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Ritual Cloak brand new EP 'Vanished In Transition' is out today via Bubblewrap Collective
Ritual Cloak take a more introspective and meditative direction with new EP, Vanished in Transition, venturing into new musical territories that draw influence from ambient, jazz, doom metal and George Harrison’s indian explorations. Leaning into down-tempo rhythms, drums have been exchanged for heart-beats, as if this EP is the duo breathing deep in readiness to face the next chapter.
Featuring Rob Smith of Wonderbrass and Wylderness bandmate, Harri Rees (Vanished in Transition) and Karl Griffiths of Morning Arcade (Half of My Life), Vanished in Transition showcases Ritual Cloak’s continued love of collaboration.
Recorded at home and their own studio in Cardiff, Vanished in Transition’s theme plays with the fascination of disappearing, although the duo have no such plans of vanishing any time soon.
'Vanished In Transition' Tracklisting
1. Gweledigaeth
2. Left Behind
3. Vanished In Transition
4. Ornamental
5. Half Of My Left
6. Reprise
1. Gweledigaeth
2. Left Behind
3. Vanished In Transition
4. Ornamental
5. Half Of My Left
6. Reprise
Gweledigaeth
Gweledigaeth was the last song to be written and completed for the EP. The song just came to Dan and was written and recorded in one take, with the name aptly meaning ‘vision’ in Welsh. Vangelis’s music is something that has definitely seeped into our musical identity and steered us towards embracing otherworldly synth-scapes like this song. It felt right for Gweledigaeth to start the record and set the scene.
Left Behind
Left Behind wouldn’t exist without the influence of George Harrison and the Brianjonestown Massacre. The song revolves around a sitar-like guitar line that we knew we wanted to have constantly looping to create a meditative drone. The lyrics are a collage of different lines and ideas that when brought together create a story of a long-forgotten ‘saviour’ that’s coming back but nobody needs them anymore.
Vanished in Transition
When we started writing Vanished in Transition we didn’t expect it to end up where it did. We weren’t totally prepared for how Rob Smith of Wonderbrass and Harri Rees of Wylderness would transform the direction and feel of the song towards a Pharoah Sanders style jazz odyssey. It really is the centre-piece of the EP. The song is about the romanticism of disappearing and what the reality is for those left behind.
Ornamental
Originally intended to be on Divine Invasions, work on Ornamental began back in early 2019. Dan doesn’t consider himself an accomplished pianist but was pushing himself to write more stretching pieces on piano. Despite the song being somewhat finished, it didn’t make the cut for the final tracklist of the album as we felt it was missing something. We gave the track some space whilst we worked on other material, until Dan read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. There was a chapter that contained the poem, ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’ by American poet Sara Teasdale from 1918. The words described perfectly to us a world, absent of people, where relics of a vanished civilisation remain like ornaments. It felt like fate.
Half of My Life
Half of My Life is a reflection on the melancholia of getting older. It started off as a gentle solo piano piece but we could hear the potential to lift the song emotionally. Using crunching footsteps to create rhythm and playing guitars with violin bows really brings the song to life. Karl Griffiths of Morning Arcade’s guitar created an air of positivity to the song. We had some big storms last year that Dan recorded and when we put them to the music, it was like it was meant to be there.
Ritual Cloak is Daniel Barnett, formerly of Samoans & drummer/producer Andrew Sanders.
Both coming from predominantly rock backgrounds, the duo set out to explore new musical territory in the form of piano-led ambient soundscapes & minimal techno beats drawn from a mutual love of sci-fi, all resulting in their well-received self-titled debut in 2019.
In 2020 Ritual Cloak signed to Bubblewrap Collective Records, releasing the single, I Lawr Ymhlith Y Tywyllwch, that revisited and rebuilt the glacial sonic wizardry of their debut brick-by-brick, glitch-by-glitch.
2021 was Ritual Cloak's most ambitious year yet, releasing two full-length albums, Divine Invasions & A Human Being Is The Best Disguise, a reworking of the debut album, with new lyrics & vocals by writer & comedian Autumn Juvenile, followed by a cover of R.E.M.'s Orange Crush and the meditative collaboration Witaj w Domu with Polish photographer, Michal Iwanowski.
Ritual Cloak returned in the autumn of 2022 with the dramatically intimate single Shell, giving a taste of what’s to come their brand new EP ‘Vanished in Transition’. Out 14th April, through Bubblewrap Records.
Buy the limited edition LP, here: bit.ly/RitualCloakEP
