AUTHOR & PUNISHER announces new album ‘Krüller’

, ,

Author & Punisher, the alias for visionary San Diego musician-meets-mechanical engineer Tristan Shone, returns with the melody-laden new album, Krüller, featuring a suite of upgraded machines, a distilled vocal process and a handful of guest players including Tool’s Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor. The album will be released on Relapse Records on February 11.

A taste of the eagerly-awaited record arrives with the release of Drone Carrying Dread, and the accompanying, graphically-saturated video. The clip was directed by Monte Legaspi and features illustrations from album cover artist Zlatko Mitev.

“’Drone Carrying Dread’ was the first song I wrote on Krüller,” explains Shone of the album that thematically was inspired by Octavia E. Butler’s Parable series. “I had just gotten home from the final tour of the Beastland album cycle and I spent a couple weeks updating my overall tones with a nice balance of sub, saw/synth and tube amp. This track was basically the one where it all clicked and I had these chords that resonated just right, shaking the entire warehouse. It’s a simple but raw progression that was ripe for the addition of synthesizer programming from co-producer Jason Begin (Vytear). Lyrically, it’s about escape and survival, as the events that were unfolding in 2020 were prophesied by the books I was reading throughout the year.” 

Shone began work on Krüller after returning from his opening slot with Tool across the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, before being cut short due to the March 2020 lockdowns. 

“Melody has been and is still a part of my sound,” says Shone. “I’ve always bathed them in a lot of reverb, delay, and distortion, though. This time around, I was bothered by the wall of distortion I had created. I wanted a little more clarity. I wanted to refine the sound. I wanted to step back from my own show and analyze it a bit. I had all these competing distortions that I wanted to streamline. I like contrast and wanted the vocals to be immediately noticeable. There’s something about mixing punishing drones and rumble with a mellow thing on top that I really like on Krüller.” 

Shone’s digitized snarls rightfully had their place on earlier tracks like “Doppler,” “Terrorbird,” and “Nihil Strength,” but contrasting mellow vocals atop Author & Punisher’s unparalleled heft made dynamic sense. Indeed, with Shone’s singing on songs like “Drone Carrying Dread,”“Maiden Star,” and the exceptional translation of Portishead hit “Glory Box,” Author & Punisher have projected an air of uncertainty around the steely, often slow-motion grind.

Part of the Krüller revamp included refining the machines that have become synonymous with Author & Punisher. As a result, Shone is also launching a bespoke audio gear company called Drone Machines to coincide with the release of Krüller. The gear company launch follows nearly two decades of Author & Punisher honing in on his craft – meticulously inventing, machining, experimenting, and creating custom musical instruments for his incredible live performances and recordings.

Krüller pre-orders are available now with the 8-song, 52 minute collection available on a selection of limited-edition vinyl variants, CD, cassette and digitally.

Krüller tracklist:

  1. Drone Carrying Dread
  2. Incinerator
  3. Centurion
  4. Maiden Star
  5. Misery
  6. Glorybox (Portishead cover)
  7. Blacksmith 
  8. Krüller

Author & Punisher has announced two rounds of 2022 European tour dates with North American performances to be announced soon.

Headlining dates:

February 7  Tallin, Estonia  Sveta Bar
February 8  Riga, Latvia  Melna Piektdiena
February 9  Vilnius, Lithuania  XI 20
February 12  Haarlem, Netherlands  Complexity
February 13  Antwerp, Belgium  Kavka
February 14  Brighton, UK  Patterns
February 15  London, UK  The Underworld
February 16  Leeds, UK  Brudenell Social Club
February 17  Glasgow, UK  Stereo
February 18  Newcastle, UK  Cluny
February 19  Birmingham, UK  Castle and Falcon
February 20  Bristol, UK  Fleece
February 21  Manchester, UK  Deaf Institute

w/ Perturbator and Health:
October 6  Lille, France  Aeronef
October 7  Paris, France  L’Olympia
October 12  Bordeaux, France  Krakatoa
October 13  Toulouse, France  Bikini
October 14  Madrid, Spain  La Riviera
October 15  Barcelona, Spain  Razzmatazz 2
October 16  Nantes, France  Stereolux
October 18  Lyon, France  Le Transbordeur
October 19  Strasbourg, France  La Laiterie
Oxtober 20  Lausanne, Switzerland  Les Docks
October 21  Munich, Germany  Freheiz
October 22  Vienna, Austria  Arena
October 23  Budapest, Hungary  Akvarium Nagyhall
October 25  Prague, Czech Republic  Lucerna Music
October 26  Wroclaw, Poland  Zaklete Rewiry
October 27  Warsaw, Poland  Progresja
October 28  Berlin, Germany  Heimathafen
October 29  Goteborg, Sweden  Tradgar N
October 30  Stockholm, Sweden  Berns
November 1  Helsinki, Finland  Tavastia
November 3  Oslo, Norway  Vulkan Arena
November 4  Copenhagen, Denmark  Pumpehuset
November 5  Hamburg, Germany  Uebel & Gefahrlich
November 6  Utrecht, Netherlands  Tivoli
November 8  Cologne, Germany  Kantine
November 9  Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxermbourg  Rockhall
November 10  Brussels, Belgium  Ancienne Belgique

Author & Punisher formed in January 2004 as the brainchild of mechanical engineer, artist and sculptor Tristan Shone. His innovation, and the unique way he has melded his seemingly disparate background, has been highlighted in a wide range of outlets, from Wired Magazine who dubbed him a “doom metal auteur,” to Pitchfork who noted he “literalized the idea of sound sculpture.” He has released seven full-length albums and an EP over the years: The Painted Army (2005), Warcry (2007), Drone Machines (2010), Ursus Americanus (2012), Women & Children (2013), Melk En Honing (2015), Pressure Mine EP (2017) and Beastland (2018).

Links:
Tristanshone.com
Facebook.com/authorandpunisher
Instagram.com/authorandpunisher
Twitter.com/authorandpunisher
Authorandpunisher.bandcamp.com

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *