Demdike Stare’s Miles Whittaker revives his Suum Cuique persona with Ascetic Ideals, continued creepiness

Demdike Stare's Miles Whittaker revives his Suum Cuique persona with Ascetic Ideals, continued creepiness

Oh lord, just when I had personally resolved the uncertain pronunciation of the “Demdike” in “Demdike Stare,” Miles Whittaker has to go and revisit his Suum Cuique project, which premiered in 2010 with the limited-edition release of an LP titled Midden.

Rather than speculate on the pronunciation of this particular moniker (which, by the way, looks pretty crude if you’ve been perusing the darker side of the internet lately), let’s take a gander at its actual meaning. “Suum cuique” is the Latin equivalent of the well-known idiom “to each his own.” More recently, the idiom itself has been taken to mean that everyone is free to pursue their own interests and to have their own preferences, but its Latin precursor dealt with more specific notions of social justice. The phrase was popularized by Roman philosopher and politician Cicero, who once stated, “Iustitia suum cuique distribuit,” meaning, “Justice renders to everyone his due.” In other words, people have certain rights (such as property) in accordance with their abilities and their related contributions to society. Someone cue up the music from those NBC public service announcements. Hey! Learning is fun!

On June 5 (May 28 in the UK), Whittaker will be releasing Ascetic Ideals, his second album as Suum Cuique. The album will be released on vinyl in a limited edition of 700 copies through Young Americans, an imprint of Modern Love. Musically, like most of Whittaker’s work (both solo and as one-half of Demdike Stare), I’m betting a clean pair of underpants is in order, especially if you’re in Eastern Europe and plan on soundtracking an evening stroll.

Ascetic Ideals tracklisting:

A1. Strohtopf
A2. Kuiper Anomaly
A3. Atlas Levels
A4. Core Value
B1. Intonation
B2. Deux Ex Machina
B3. Proton Aesthetic
B4. Dionysus Decay

• Demdike Stare: http://www.facebook.com/demdikestare
• Modern Love: http://www.modern-love.co.uk

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