Adam Wiltzie, best known for his ambient creations with Stars of the Lid, and Dustin O’Halloran, a Berlin-based pianist/composer and member of the dream pop band Devics, have just released their very first collaborative album under their moniker A Winged Victory for the Sullen. The album is a pure revelation from beginning to end, and will weave its way through the cracks of your mind like a cool, soothing breeze. I can’t say enough good things about this new duo, and the rest of the music world is falling in love with them as well.
In a recent interview with M Is For Music, O’Halloran was asked about the philosophy that went into the album, to which he said there was no strategic map. He elaborated, “For me each song has a really specific reference to a person close to me and a space. These things are very personal, and I do not wish to project this on the listener. I am sure some people will feel something powerful with this piece of music, and it is. We went through some very intense moments in our personal lives, and there is an insane amount of emotion in the recording.” MusicOMH reviewed the album, and among their praises they wrote, “One wouldn’t and shouldn’t name this duo a ‘project’, as both classically trained musicians aspire to work together more on this nocturnal styled ambience. Classical music has been a personal faction of individual lives for centuries; there’s an era for everyone. With this debut it is clear that O’Halloran and Wiltzie have prosperously joined neutralist ambient and 20th century classical music together. In so doing they’ve formed aesthetically pleasing sounds which can allure every night-time audience.”
And in Pitchfork’s glowing review, they mention the story behind the band’s name. “The band was named in reference to a Greek statue in the Louvre called “Winged Victory of Samothrace,” a long-beheaded depiction of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, found on the Greek island of Samothrace. It portrays the striding, triumphant figure, an image of arrested motion that ties nicely to this record: A Winged Victory’s music, more active than drone and thicker than minimalism, captures movement and freezes it.” You can read the entire Pitchfork review by CLICKING HERE. You can follow A Winged Victory For The Sullen on their website AWVFTS.com, as well as on Facebook and MySpace. You can pick up your own copy of the album on iTunes.
