This is a titillating offering, creating its own imaginary sonic playfield where Nine Inch Nails meets Massive Attack. Here, John Fryer and Bill Leeb show impressive longevity and innovation, indicating how interesting and relevant they still are to the genre, never ones to simply use technology by the manual.

Recognized as one of the most innovative sonic architects on the music scene, his imprint has been massive over the years, being formative in developing the trademark sound we associate today with such bands as Nine Inch Nails, Cocteau Twins and, of course, This Mortal Coil (as one of only two constant members, along with Ivo Watts-Russell, providing keyboards, strings and synthesizer sequencing).

John Fryer started his career in 1979 at London’s Blackwing Studios (London) and soon began working with seminal bands on the 4AD, Mute, Rough Trade and Beggars Banquet record labels, including Depeche Mode, The Wolfgang Press and Cocteau Twins. His achievement in helping develop the latter’s pioneering ethereal and ambient sound ultimately led Watts-Russell to recruit Fryer as his partner for This Mortal Coil.

He has produced many other groundbreaking artists, including Love and Rockets, Swans, HIM, Cradle of Filth, Clan of Xymox, Nitzer Ebb, Yaz (Yazoo), Xmal Deutschland, Fields of the Nephilim, De/Vision, Stabbing Westward, Jesus Jones, Swallow, M|A|R|R|S (A.R.Kane & Colourbox), Kristin Hersh and many others. More recent projects involve Dead Leaf Echo and The Foreign Resort.

Over the past two decades, John Fryer has also produced several film soundtracks, including Seven, Clerks, Johnny Mnemonic, Mortal Kombat, Faust and Resident Evil: Apocalypse. 

Black Needle Noise has been releasing singles one by one towards his next album. Recent singles feature Jarboe (Swans), Jennie Vee (also bassist in Courtney Love’s band Hole), Ana Breton (Dead Leaf Echo), as well as Omniflux (Puscifer), Kendra Frost (Kite Base), Andrea Kerr (Colt), Elena Alice Fossi (Kirlian Camera), and Zialand, among others.

Bill Leeb is an electronic musician and record producer, best known as a founding member of the industrial music group Front Line Assembly. Though the band has had consistent underground success, Leeb’s most widely known efforts are through his side project Delerium, which had a major worldwide hit in the late 1990s with “Silence” featuring vocals by Sarah McLachlan, which reached number three on the UK music charts and has been described as one of the greatest trance songs of all time.

Leeb began his musical career with industrial band Skinny Puppy in 1985 under the pseudonym Wilhelm Schroeder before leaving in mid-1986 to form Front Line Assembly. He is also known for his work with Noise Unit and Intermix, among others.

Delirium recently released their 15th studio album ‘Mythologie’ through Metropolis Records, which debuted at #7 on Billboard’s Electronic charts. This album involved Los Angeles singer-songwriter and composer Mimi Page on four tracks, heightening the cinematic dream world element. Mimi Page also recently collaborated with Black Needle Noise on the single ‘Swimming Through Dreams’.

Other vocalists featured on Delerium tracks include Kristy Thirsk (of Rose Chronicles), Leigh Nash (of Sixpence None the Richer), Emily Haines (of Metric), Jacqui Hunt (of Single Gun Theory), Lisa Gerrard (of Dead Can Dance), Elsieanne Caplette (of Elsiane), Jaël (of Swiss band Lunik), Camille Henderson, Nerina Pallot, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Shelley Harland, as well as Matthew Sweet.

‘A Shiver of Want’ will be available via iTunes and various streaming platforms on April 28, and is already available on a pay-what-you-want basis via Black Needle Noise’s  Bandcamp page.

CREDITS