The Orbweavers photograph by Daniel Aulsebrook 

• “Their incredibly hushed and beautiful songs hang in a mysterious air where spooky and pretty are kindred spirits and here go deep in search of what they call the ‘buried and hidden things’ – things surrounding us that we may not see but undoubtedly, unconsciously, feel” – 2SER BEST NEW MUSIC

Beloved Melbourne band The Orbweavers return with Deep Leads, the eagerly awaited new album by following 2011’s Loom, out now on Mistletone Records via Inertia; mail order here.

Listen to “Cyclamen” from Deep Leads, below:

Cyclamen Artist Statement

Subjects: plants, soil types, seasons, cycles, sleep, photosynthesis, classical mythology, quest

An evening invocation for protection through winter, and deep sleep. Cyclamen are associated with the Ancient Greek goddess Hecate, who is often depicted holding torches. Hecate in turn, is associated with knowledge of poisonous and medicinal plants, a mediator between mortal and divine realms, a goddess of the crossroads.

“We love bossa nova, and the cyclamen flower”, explain Marita Dyson and Stuart Flanagan (The Orbweavers). “Last winter we had a row of coloured cyclamen across the backsteps. They glowed like little torches against the grey weather of decay and transition. We listened to a lot of Stan Getz, Joao and Astrud Gilberto that winter, and looked out at the scarlet, purple, crimson and white cyclamen torches as night approached.”

“Cyclamen” springs from Deep Leads, the eagerly awaited new album by The Orbweavers following 2011’s Loom.

“Deep Leads is about buried and hidden things. Mining the land, the body and mind. Old rivers of feeling. Poison/panacea. Extraction/preservation. Escapism/courage. Deep sleep. Cycles of decay and return.

“Geologically, deep leads are buried ancient river beds which sometimes contain alluvial gold. In Victoria, they usually lie beneath basalt lava flows which hold younger waterways on the surface above. Deep lead gold mining required cutting deep, dangerous shafts through hardened volcanic rock. The shafts were at risk of cave ins and flooding from aquifers, and often did not contain the gold hoped for.

“To use this geology as a metaphor, Deep Leads is the underlying layer to our previous album Loom. Where Loom explored the basalt bed and surrounds of the younger Merri Creek waterway, Deep Leads heads underground and within, exploring industrial, agricultural and personal histories (Blue Lake, The Dry, A Very Long Time), heavy and precious metals (Radium Girls, Mine), internal realms of escape and quest (Poison Garden, Cyclamen, Nitrates). We recorded and produced Deep Leads at home in the Merri Creek water catchment area. There are many accretions of history along this waterway, and it always seems to find a way in to our work and life. The street we live in is a storm water course to the Merri. The album was mixed by the banks of the Merri in East Brunswick by James Cecil at Super Melody World, and mastered just uphill to the west, on Brunswick high ground, by Adam Dempsey at Deluxe Mastering Melbourne.” 

Cyclamen Lyrics

I will stay these winter days,
With cyclamen as torches,
Beacons against the grey weathering in my head.
Clay feet,
Sink close,
Sleep deeply.

Evening falls,
Unfamiliar ways;
With cyclamen as torches,
Lead me back to where it was I first heard your name.
Clay feet Proceed,
Fearlessly.

Scarlet, purple, crimson and white,
Give me a vision to take through the night,
Where you return is where we are heading,
Earth is a bed,
And sleep is remembering.

Scarlet, purple, crimson and white,
Dormant receiver storing the light,
Who is a thief and who’s a collector?
I invoke you:
Be my protector.
Remembering.

Deep Leads – Liner Notes

All songs written and performed by Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan
Produced by Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan
Mixed by James Cecil at Super Melody World, next to the Merri Creek
Mastered by Adam Dempsey at Deluxe Mastering Melbourne
Art & Design by Marita Dyson & Stuart Flanagan
Original Illustrations by Marita Dyson
C & P 2017 Mistletone Records

Thank you

Sophie, Ash and Wayne. Thank you James, Adam, Paddy, Dan A., Stuart, Jen and Dan N., Bek, Sean, Grant, Lucy, Glen. Thank you Flanagans & Dysons. Thank you friends. Thank you listeners. Thank you Fern.

Official music video for “Poison Garden” by The Orbweavers, directed by Lucy Dyson

• “Melbourne’s The Orbweavers have dealt in delicate, lilting indie folk for years and their output has always been great. But Poison Garden is a new level” – BEST NEW MUSIC, DOUBLE J

Stills from Lucy Dyson’s “Poison Garden” video:

The Orbweavers – mesmerising, haunting and heartwarming. Drawing on a love of history and science, The Orbweavers have charmed audiences with evocative songs of creeks & quarries (Merri), greyhounds (You Can Run – Fern’s Theme), volcanoes (Japanese Mountains), textile mills, historic sewerage pumping stations (Spotswood) ,and industrial landmarks (Match Factory). Dark and dulcet melodies, chiming guitar, violin and trumpet meld to hypnotic effect, recalling reverberant ghosts of places past.

Garnering Triple R Melbourne Album of the Week (Loom – 2011), national and international praise, The Orbweavers have performed at ABC TV studios, ABC Radio National, Melbourne Music Week (2011 & 2012), National Gallery of Victoria, Brisbane Powerhouse, and supported international artists Beach House, Cass McCombs and Julia Holter. Most recently they released a double single, Ceiling Rose / Match Factory, and performed showcases at BIGSOUND in Brisbane, AWME – Australian Worldwide Music Expo, and national touring dates including festival performances such as Meredith Music Festival and Port Fairy Folk Festival. The Orbweavers are fast drawing a devoted following of their spellbinding sound, and are preparing their next album for release later in 2015.

On Remembrance Day 2014, The Orbweavers released “The Distant Call of Home”, the evocative theme song for ABC-TV’s dramatised four-part documentary series, “The Distant Call of Home”; click here to purchase “The Distant Call of Home” via iTunes.

The Orbweavers were a prominent part of  The War That Changed Us; the theme song, “The Distant Call of Home”, was written by The Orbweavers (Marita Dyson and Stuart Flanagan). Fans of The Orbweavers instantly recognised Marita’s exquisite voice singing the theme song, as well as a number of old songs from the World War I period, such as “‘Sing Me To Sleep”, “Good-Byee” and “Oh! It’s A Lovely War”.

The Orbweavers agreed that working on The War That Changed Us; learning and recording traditional World War I songs for the soundtrack, and then writing an original theme song, has been an extraordinary experience for them as musicians. “To write the theme song, we searched for a connection between people of the past, who experienced the war, and the present”, Stuart Flanagan said.

‘Themes of time and distance became our focus”, explained Marita Dyson. “We thought about the rising of the sun in Australia signalling nightfall in trenches across the other side of the world; the sun as a link between people and places, thousands of miles apart.

“We stood at the gate of our house and looked down the street, imagining what family or a loved one would have felt in the same place, 100 years ago, waiting for news”, Marita remembered.”We thought about the Australian landscape of home, the sound and light – a tangible environment across time.”

• “It’s directed with a kind of cinematic lushness that brings it all to life in a way that is often surprisingly evocative — all tied together by the mesmerising, haunting voice of Marita Dyson and her song The Distant Call of Home, her whispery vocals capable of bringing tears to the eyes” – THE AUSTRALIAN
  
• “Particularly impressive is the use of music. Along with the haunting title track, Marita Dyson also reinterprets the popular songs of the day and tonight the contrast of her tinglingly pure voice, the ironically jaunty melodies, and the macabre lyrics packs a huge punch” – SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
• “A stunningly beautiful song. That is poetry, pure and simple” – JON FAINE, 774 ABC

Video: Ceiling Rose by The Orbweavers. Director: Noko Washiyama, DoP: Brian Cohen.

PRAISE FOR THE ORBWEAVERS:

• “A particularly special Melbourne band” – THE AGE MELBOURNE MAGAZINE
• “An hour spent with The Orbweavers is a thoughtful conversation about spirit, adventure, home and history, not to mention the great music” – THE MUSIC
• “Spine-tingling stuff”  – 4ZZZ BRISBANE
• “If Alice in Wonderland were ever to be filmed in the desert against a modern backdrop, then the soundtrack really ought to sound like this. File under ‘sublime and rewarding’” – TERRASCOPE UK
• “Everything about The Orbweavers is effortlessly charming”  – BROADSHEET
• “By the time The Orbweavers came on stage the Northcote was at full capacity, which for a Sunday day show on the same day as St Kilda fest is no easy feat. However, from seeing them live it’s of no surprise at all”  – FASTER LOUDER
• “A gloriously dark folk outfit that has the perfect ace up their sleeve, lead guitarist Stuart Flanagan” – TONE DEAF
• “Loom is a rare blend of fine evocative storytelling coupled with beautifully constructed songs, whispery vocals, inspiring vivid imagery of historical sites in Melbourne and makes one want to know more about their city’s forgotten past. The songs become more potent and powerful with every listen and the melancholy tone tugs at the heart strings”  – THE AU REVIEW
• “The deft guitar of Stuart Flanagan and trumpet of Daniel Aulsebrook lets their dark country balladry soar and linger beautifully. In their succession of quiet achievements, tonight is another win”  – 2011 MELBOURNE MUSIC WEEK REVIEW, ANDY HAZEL
• “The best song written about Melbourne since Paul Kelly’s From St Kilda to Kings Cross”  –  BEN ELTHAM ON SPOTSWOOD
• “This song is so beautiful it hurts” – PAUL KELLY ON SPOTSWOOD

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