Named for the Zen parable of the Broken Cup, which teaches acceptance in the face of misfortune, Cup is a new album of solitude and celebration by veteran electronic music artist AeTopus (Bryan Tewell Hughes), and it is his first release on the Spotted Peccary Music label.
With this new album, AeTopus continues to evolve as an artist, capturing the calm and wildness of the forest in thirteen tracks of complex serenity, suggesting the solace found when, divested from external pressures, one embraces their own impermanence. Cup explores humanity’s place in nature through a stunning synthesis of electronic beats and rhythmic structures combined with saturated ambiences of enduring beauty.
When composing, AeTopus builds lush soundscapes from pulsing electronic sequences and traditional percussion, then subtracts from them. As a trained visual artist, AeTopus learned the value of negative space and applies that knowledge to these compositions. Ultimately, Cup is a work of passion that demonstrates the artistic process throughout all the pieces with such refined, beautiful expression.
AeTopus shares, “Cup is the product of my time in the natural world, and of the realization that the universe is scarcely affected by the triumphs, tragedies, and day-to-day lives of even the greatest of personalities, the mightiest of nations, or the most enduring of belief systems.” Cup is an album of exploration and acceptance, a celebration of our place in the cosmos, however small it may be.
Mastered by Howard Givens at Spotted Peccary PNW Studios, Cup is available as a CD and for streaming and downloading, including high resolution studio master formats. The project’s images and layout were designed by Daniel Pipitone, Spotted Peccary Studios NE.
Spotted Peccary Music will live stream Cup throughout the day today on its 24/7/365 streaming channel SPMLive.
Listen to the AeTopus interview on Tones & Drones.
Watch an interview with AeTopus on Fairfax City News.
For artist interviews, review copies, or promotional requests, please contact Beth Ann Hilton via beth@spottedpeccary.com
Tracklist:
1 Pure
2 Clean Break
3 Beam
4 Relic
5 Sygna
6 Drue
7 They Know
8 Glance
9 Access
10 Sundial
11 Advent
12 Memento
13 Softgreen
Links:
Smartlink: https://orcd.co/aetopus-cup
Amazon: https://a.co/d/0VQKoPV
Tidal: http://www.tidal.com/album/317835892
Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/album/cup/1708642623
Spotted Peccary Album Page: https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/cup/
Bandcamp: https://ambientelectronic.bandcamp.com/album/cup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spottedpeccary/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spottedpeccary
