New Release!

Sample 01. The Sound of Ice Melting
Sample 02. Scarlet Lake
Sample 03. Tomorrowland
Sample 04. Sweet Bird of Truth
Sample 05. A Minor Prize
Sample 06. Lady of the Broom
Sample 07. Glitter Palms
Sample 08. How Clouds Dream
Sample 09. The Anklet of City Lights
Sample 10. Risperidone
Sample 11. The Free Conversation
Sample 12. Dark Motel

Scarlet Lake

Scarlet Lake brings together several recordings, intact and untouched from a personally sacred time. Living in Victoria just after art college in the early to late '90s it was like the Lilacs never stopped blooming, and the slant of September light lasted forever. During the day I listened non-stop to my little discman plugged into a pair of crappy speakers, getting high on fumes in the plastic factory/sign shop I worked in, and lived above. And every night the cassette 4 track was the cauldron I brewed over. Scarlet Lake features a few tracks from this time. Songs that never fit into the albums I was working on or somehow just didn't feel finished. In 1998 I went digital and hadn't really looked back until a couple years ago. The tragic passing of musical friend Dave Wenger (of Daddy's Hands fame) a little more than a year and a half ago was a shocking wake up, and urgent reminder of those times. I had been happily drifting with my music—working on festival performances, with theatre and dance, improvised noise, and musique concrète. And then I fell in love again hearing the debut full length from Akron/Family. Later witnessing their live performance at Richard's on Richards was a call to action. What started as a collection of lost treasures seemed to take a life of its own, as I exploded ancient 4 track recordings into the digital realm, overdubbing, tearing apart and re-imagining the music with the possibilities distance and technology afforded. A few brand new pieces from recent recording sessions fit the spirit and energy of the earlier pieces and rounded the album out. Scarlet Lake is the remarkable collision of a hazy, magical past, and a brilliant, imagined future, coagulating in the infinite now. It's heart lies in the intersection of sound and song, improvisation and composition. It features 3 super catchy tunes written by Marc Mabberly, as well as performances by Todd Hutzulak, Rachael Wadham, Stephen Lyons, Ken Doskoch, JP Carter, Russell Sholberg, Madoka Hara, Lief Hall, Ben Wilson, Jason Felker, Max Murphy, Kim Stewart, Signe Knutson, Chad MacQuarrie, Thomas Shields, Julian Gosper and Todd Mason.

— Lee Hutzulak, June 5, 2008

DDP in Railway Club

w/ Make Love, Buffaloswans

9 PM, Tuesday, February 3 · $8/6 (members) at the door
Railway Club · 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver BC

Live performance in Victoria!

Lee Hutzulak: guitar/vox
Rachael Wadham: keyboard/saw/junk
Russell Sholberg: upright bass
Stephen Lyons: drums
Spencer Davis: guitar

8 PM, Saturday, November 29 · $7 at the door
Fort Street Cafe · 742 Fort Street, Victoria BC · 250.382.3130

Scarlet Lake CD release party!

Lee Hutzulak + Solder and Sons present a CD launch for:

Dixie's Death Pool Scarlet Lake

8 PM, Thursday, August 7 · $7 show, $15 w/CD
Solder and Sons · 247 Main Street, Vancouver BC · 604.315.7198

Bio

Active from 1991–2001 as Dixie's Death Pool, Lee Hutzulak worked with an ever changing line-up to produce miniature studio epics, characterized by a startling variety of atmospheres, evocative vocals, melodies, and quirky pop hooks. Originally from Calgary, AB, DDP flourished in Victoria BC from 1993–2000, releasing Bluebird in 1995, and Beauty Sleep in 1999. Moving from Victoria to Vancouver in 2000 was the beginning of the end for DDP, and after the release of Soon in 2001 the live ensemble pretty much ceased to exist. With his key songwriting collaborators in far away places or otherwise occupied Lee continued working in the home studio, both solo and with guests, releasing Princess Builder in 2003 and Angel Trumpets Clicking Death in 2005 under his own name. During this time Hutzulak largely abandoned the song, instead expanding his sonic vocabulary with electro-acoustic improv in a number of projects. Some of these are still active today: Collapsing Lung, Attn: Diamond Shoppers, Spectrum Interview, Heartwarmongering, Hi Dozo, Action Vacuum, The Vertical Narrative, and Infinity Mattress. With Scarlet Lake Lee is again wrestling the intersection of sound and song, improvisation and composition. The new record features unreleased recordings from the time of and directly after Bluebird as well as a couple new tunes. Some songs on Scarlet Lake are exactly as they were originally recorded and mixed, while others have been overdubbed, torn apart and re imagined utilizing possibilities time and technology have afforded.

Also see: myspace.com/dixiesdeathpool