Damian Boylan - 'Rarefactions' LP (Vinyl)

‘Rarefactions’ is the first full length music album from British composer, producer & visual artist, Damian Boylan.

Spanning the genres of experimental electronica and contemporary classical, the album chronicles a time-centric story of the Universe, charting the macrocosm from its formation, expansion and contraction, through to its proposed destiny, in which ends become beginnings, and all matter repeats in the self-same way, for eternity.

Part visceral, part cerebral experience, the album draws inspiration from a host of minimalist artists, from composers John Cage & Steve Reich, through to visual artists Richard Serra & Pierre Soulages.

Rarefaction’s rich orchestral textures and poignant chorales, juxtapose electronic rubato and ascetic percussion to evoke notions of cosmic solemnity. Layered in painstaking detail, the album’s self-referential phrases and evocative leitmotif capture both the zeitgeist of the human condition, and its transient place, within this much vaster timescale.

The record’s meta construction pays homage to scientific and philosophical theory alike, including Nietzsche’s 1882 treatise on ‘Eternal Return’, one that posits that the Universe exists within a recursive loop, and as such, is destined to repeat in the selfsame way, ad infinitum. In keeping, the final phrase of the album’s closing track develops, so as to match in key, tempo and timbre to that of the album's opening track, allowing the record itself to repeat on a seemingly infinite loop...

Mastered by Matt Colton (Brian Eno, Four Tet, Thom Yorke, Aphex Twin, BICEP, Jon Hopkins), and conducted with live strings from AIR Studios, London (Hans Zimmer, Ólafur Arnalds), the album’s various artworks and short films come from Boylan’s body of paintings and videographies, created through his long-spanning, multidisciplinary studio practice. 12 paintings and music videos serve as a contemplative companion and counterpoint to the album’s 12 songs, which explore similarly temporal concepts, within the visual realm.

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Rarefactions is delivered in limited edition 2 x 12" gatefold LP format on 180GM heavyweight virgin vinyl. The gatefold sleeve expands with a glossy insert exhibiting the paintings that make up the album's various artworks, along with the backstory on their studio creation, and exploration of the album's central themes.

℗ + © 2025 Arrow of Time

AOTLP001

A1

• Undulations - 03:00
• Expansions - 03:05
• Recombination - 03:38

A2

• Inflection Point - 04:29
• Vectors - 04:20
• Samedi - 04:53

B1

• Gossamer - 05:11
• Precession - 06:18
• Zenith - 04:34

B2

• Coda - 04:27
• Recollapse - 06:08
• Eternal Return - 08:10