Supervøid strike forth with a combination of sludge-induced fear and trepidation. Jo Quail joins in and make sure you’re not alone in the dark as you take it all in.

Release date: 7th May 2021

Label: Subsound Records

Format: Digital / vinyl

Experimental doom-ambience? Jo Quail? Released on Subsound Records? Sounds like we’re going in…

Supervøid is a new 3 piece instrumental combo with roots in doom, sludge, noise, ambient, and blues/country. Intrigued? So were we. Formed in 2017 by guitar player/producer Eraldo Bernocchi, guitar player Xabier Iriondo, drummer Jacopo Pierazzuoli the trio had the rather smart idea to involve one of our heroes, avant/classic cellist Jo Quail. Her haunting and experimental cello stepped into the breach instead of a vocalist as a feature on the debut album.

And first impressions are that although I’m a coloured vinyl junkie (and there is a red pressing available) this is one that has to be pressed just on black.

1.8 Billion Light Year Structure states the case from the off. A thundering repetitive rhythm incessantly beats us into submission. Any loved ones are likely to be asking quizzically “what the hell is that you’re listening to?” Should they hang around to the halfway point, the reward is a dreamy section – albeit brief – before a panzer march is back. Brilliant stuff and if anyone doubts what ‘doom ambient’ represents, listen here.

“Imagine being launched in deep space.” says the band. “No idea where you’ll end up and if you ever arrive somewhere. This is what we felt when we recorded The Giant Nothing. We met, we jammed, we created instantly. No direction, no rules. Just emotions.” 

A Cold Spot similarly builds on a torturous rhythm and the cello – or what sounds Jo Quail makes with a cello – winds an ethereal way around a threateningly bleak vastness. Yes, there is a calmer interlude, one earned after indulging in such an intense barrage. Eridanus – The Biggest Thing takes up that marching onslaught and turns the dial to eleven. Positively fearsome and I’m reminded of some of the fuzzed-up work of Manchester’s Amplifier, but Supervøid take the music into much deeper and swampier depths. Their phrase “it doesn’t matter which way we’re facing, so long as we’re rolling forward” wouldn’t be out of place here.

The Dark Flow could easily be subtitled The Great Nothing and be part-title track. It simply sounds just like a great void. Teased by such a piece that weighs heavily on the ambient side – plus added Quail-isms – there’s a bizarre relief when we return to A Rip In The Fabric Of Space and the monolithic slab of fuzz and noise driven by a barrage of drums.

That balance of a treacle thick hypnotic doom and comes shared with the presence of a more ambient side that indulges in wild drones and windswept soundscapes. As one takes the lead, there’s a strange longing for the alter ego to make a return.

Jo Quail has called The Great Nothing  : “a record unlike any other I’ve worked on. In my role as ‘lead line’ I was able to explore cello in a way that stands outside of a standard collaborative work. Together we were able to explore texture and musical shape in such depth, and working with these master musicians is a privilege. I would love to bring this to a concert stage if we can!” Too right Jo!

Looking for single material? Something for while you’re doing your domestic chores? Look elsewhere. Want your mind bending and your boundaries stretching? Pop on the headphones and start here

Available from Bandcamp

Listen to a snapshot from the album here:

Supervøid might be very low key but you can find Subsound Records online: Website / Facebook / Instagram

Album available from Bandcamp

Jo Quail online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Youtube

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