What comes around, goes around. Or so they say. After recent years spent herky jerkin’ around the dancefloor like hopped-up hyenas, the time has come for the sloth dancers of the world to have their day out of the sun. While persuading DJs to pump out lush swathes of layered atmos is as difficult as getting them to play Reveen, you will soon be able to stay at home instead and shimmy very slow while eyeing the floorboards of your apartment. Sonic Cathedral will release on April 20 a compilation entitled Cathedral Classics Volume One, which collects a good number of songs from the boutique label’s first 11 7-inch singles released between 2006 and 2008.
Dedicated to all things opaque and shoegazey, Sonic Cathedral is not just a label, but also a promoter of live shows throughout England (but mostly in London). For this compilation, they have gathered together the past, present, and future of the genre as both performers and remixers. Vets like Mark Gardener (Ride), Sonic Boom (Spaceman 3), Neil Halstead (Slowdive/Mojave 3), Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), and Dean & Britta (Luna) all appear on Cathedral Classics Volume One, as well as like-minded disciples like M83 and School of Seven Bells. Furthermore, two Japancakes My Bloody Valentine covers, “Soon” and “Touched,” are mixed by James Rutledge and Ricardo Tobar respectively. Needless to say, with 17 ethereal sounds, you will be floating on air. Well, let’s hope it’s air and not air biscuits.
1. The Tamborines - “Sally O’ Gannon”
2. The Tamborines - “Be Around”
3. Mark Gardener - “The Story of the Eye (Ulrich Schnauss Mix)”
4. Sarabeth Tucek - “Something for You (Contino Mix)”
5. School of Seven Bells - “My Cabal (Robin Guthrie Mix)”
6. Kyte - “Planet”
7. Kyte - “Secular Ventures (Maps Mix)”
8. Dean & Britta - “White Horses (Sonic Boom Mix)”
9. Miranda Lee Richards - “Life Boat (Neil Halstead Mix)”
10. Maps - “To the Sky (M83 Mix)”
11. M83 - “We Own the Sky (Maps Mix)”
12. Japancakes - “Soon (James Rutledge Mix)”
13. Japancakes - “Touched (Ricardo Tobar Mix)”
14. The Early Years - “Like a Suicide”
15. The Early Years - “The Computer Voice”
16. Daniel Land & The Modern Painters - “Within the Boundaries”
17. Daniel Land & The Modern Painters - “Benjamin’s Room”
