Seb Gainsborough is back with Passion, his new EP as Vessel.
Passion is largely inspired by Brazilian writer Claire Lispector and looks at the complexities of the mind and mental health, which includes Gainsborough’s own battles.
“The music came from, or was a response to my long-term, on-again off-again relationship with depression and anxiety,” Gainsborough says. “It’s not intended to be a conclusive or literal statement about mental health, but a personal expression of the messiness of the mind; the awful, strange, and sometimes oddly wonderful experiences I’ve had whilst feeling unwell.”
Gainsborough read “The Passion According to G.H. by Lispector around the time he was making the piece, and the “mundane, mystical, cryptically repetitive language” felt like “familiar territory to me,” he recalls. And he decided to use some of these words in this music. “For me they are abstract enough to avoid laying out a concrete narrative, but, in themselves, are concentrated units; islands of intimacy, pain, fear, anguish, joy, and love that the sound could wash over.”
The release was originally commissioned by Somerset House and co-produced with violinist Rakhi Singh. All proceeds will go to Mind, a mental health charity in England and Wales.
“Given the nature of the piece and what it draws from, it felt right to offer something back to people that are there for others when things turn bad,” Gainsborough tells EDMjunkies. “Mind have helped me a lot in the past. We live in difficult times, and services like theirs need support.”
The record lands on Paplu, a new record label launched with Singhi following the closure of Tri-Angle Records, where Gainsborough put out three albums.
Alongside the announcement, Gainsborough has shared the first single, “Movement III (if the telephone rings I’ll be saved),” which is streaming below with a video directed by Pedro Maia.
Tracklisting
01. Movement I (love is before love)
02. Movement II (trust)
03. Movement III (if the telephone rings I’ll be saved
Passion EP is scheduled for November 18 release on Paplu. Meanwhile, you can stream “Movement III (if the telephone rings I’ll be saved)” in full below and pre-order the full release here.
