The Line - Red Blood Cells And Righteousness
BRIAN DILLON, aka THE LINE, SHARES 13 TRACK COLLABORATIVE RECORD ‘RED BLOOD CELLS & RIGHTEOUSNESS’ FEATURING SORCHA RICHARDSON, LOAH, FEHDAH, GODKNOWS, MURLI, DAN FOX (GILLA BAND), SARAH CORCORAN (PILLOW QUEENS), CAOI DE BARRA (WYVERN LINGO) + MANY MORE
A line is a visual trail of energy that has been drawn across a surface and is a manifestation of the life energy of the person that made it.
The Line is the pseudonym of Brian Dillon, musician, sound artist, and member of Meltybrains? who shares his new record ‘Red Blood Cells & Righteousness’ today, Wednesday 1st November, via Strange Brew. This communally created record features some of the most exciting names in Irish music: Godknows, Sorcha Richardson, Dan Fox (Gilla Band), Sarah Corcoran (Pillow Queens), Caoi de Barra (Wyvern Lingo), Lullahush, Loah, and many more.
Brian is a member of Meltybrains? and has worked with a range of Irish artists over the last 10 years, including Talos, Loah, Brídín, and Lilla Vargen among others. He has performed at many international festivals such as SXSW and Iceland Airwaves, and his music has previously been featured in Q Magazine, Boiler Room, and Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist.
In recent years he has gleaned a great deal of experience from collaborating with a range of musicians, as well as artists from a number of disparate disciplines, including JFDR, Anna B Savage, Emma Martin (choreographer), Ellius Grace (director), Emmet Kirwan (actor/writer), Mark McGuinness (photographer) and Kate Dunne (aerialist).
The wealth of collaborative experience has led to the basis for his new project. Red Blood Cells and Righteousness is a communally created record built on the creative endeavours of Brian and a number of friends from within the Irish music world.
The 13 track collaborative LP focuses on the importance of community and communal values. The intention of the record was for the creative process to reflect the themes and content. As a result, each song was a collaboration between Brian and some of his favourite Irish musicians, friends and most erstwhile collaborators:
TRACKLIST:
Nothing W/ Lullahush
Communion W/Loah & Fehdah
Earth Died Streaming W/Feel Bad Music Club
Hero of Coincidence W/Sarah Corcoran (Pillow Queens)
I Know This Is Water W/Eamonn Dillon
Everything We Know in An Instant W/ Lullahush
Patience of Saints W/Godknows and Murli
The World Told No Lies W/Dan Fox (Gilla Band) and Nevv
Fruit Peel Path W/Caoi de Barra (Wyvern Lingo)
A Trail, Thin but Beautiful W/Lullahush
Collar Bone W/Sorcha Richardson
Light Work W/Ben Bix and Micheál Quinn (Meltybrains)
A Crack Becomes a Crevice, A Foothold Becomes a Foundation W/ Eoin French (Talos)
The title for the album came from Julian Gough’s novel ‘Connect’. Throughout the book the writer discusses the idea that human beings are like blood cells - moving autonomously through a much larger ecosystem, serving a much larger power without ever realising that’s what they are doing. Reading this book and thinking about the ‘system of systems’ led Brian down a path of discovery that involved researching the likes of David Foster Wallace’s essays on postmodernism, James Lovelock’s Gaia Hypothesis, the panentheistic philosophy of GWF Hegel and Kae Tempest’s albums and ideas.
This research process led to a large-scale sound art piece called White Blood Cells, which discusses the importance of global supply chains and the lack of respect shown towards them by the average Westerner. It also led Brian to the ideas behind Red Blood Cells and Righteousness. Namely that community, connection, and collaboration are the most important things that we have in this life, and that ‘the myth of the individual’ and the pursuit of personal gain and adulation has caused us to forget this.
The sonic landscape of the album is varied, as each track came from a collaborative writing session. As a result, there are a multitude of reference points and influences. The influence of dream-pop acts such Beach House and Cocteau Twins, as well as noisier acts like My Bloody Valentine and Skunk Anansie is felt throughout. The song writing continually pays homage to greats of contemporary alternative song writing, including the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Frank Ocean, Phoebe Bridgers, Villagers, and Big Thief.
Speaking about the album, Brian says “This is an album built on personal relationships and communication, dedicated to playing a small but significant role as a part of a world so much bigger than any of us are willing to admit. After all, maybe we’re all just blood cells, swimming through the veins of the earth, serving a much higher function.”
In celebration of the release of Red Blood Cells and Righteousness, there will be a small Irish tour to launch the record -
Nov 18th – Róisín Dubh, Galway
Nov 19th – Maureen’s, Cork City (lunchtime gig)
Nov 19th – Connolly’s of Leap, west Cork
Nov 25th – The Sugar Club, Dublin (featuring special guests including Loah, Eoin French (Talos) + more tbc)