‘Pipe Dreams’: Cate Le Bon recommends an “album to lose yourself in”
It’s been over 14 years since Cate Le Bon burst onto the scene with her debut album, Me Oh My, but she still remains one of the freshest talents in indie music. Keeping a firm finger on the pulse by collaborating with the likes of Kurt Vile and H. Hawkline and further developing her distinctive, arty sound with each new release, Le Bon effortlessly stands out amidst an increasingly monotonous scene.
Her commitment to experimentation and innovation consistently shines through in her own music, which always seems to channel a unique warmth. Infused with her Welsh background and an instrumental intricacy few other contemporary indie artists have honed, Le Bon marries art and familiarity with ease. It’s a combination that makes her discography easy to lose yourself in, but when it comes to her own listening habits, Le Bon prefers to immerse herself in the avant-garde.
While divulging her cultural highlights in a conversation with The Guardian, Cate Le Bon picked out Mary Jane Leach as her musical choice and shone a light on her uncovered archival work, Pipe Dreams. “She’s a classically avant-garde, experimental composer who was part of the ’70s New York scene that people like Julius Eastman and Arthur Russell were also a part of,” Le Bon explained.
Le Bon may be committed to experimenting in her own sphere, but Leach takes the concept of experimentation to new heights. Composing textural but minimal compositions, Leach played with overdubbing and ambience in her lengthy works. There is perhaps no better example of this than Pipe Dreams, which comprises two archival tracks from the 1980s.
The first track comes from 1989 and was recorded for a church organ in Germany. With hollow sounds and prolonged notes, the improvised, ethereal 23-minute-long track almost induces a trance-like state. The second song in the collection also pushes 20 minutes. ‘4BC’ was recorded in 1984 and intended for four bass clarinets. It’s far deeper and more guttural than its predecessor, more eerie than airy, but equally entrancing.
Le Bon was given the record while living alone in the Lake District and found that it “became a soundtrack to the moments where I embraced the solitude of living somewhere quite secluded by myself. It has these beautiful drone sounds that interact with bass, and it adapts to your mood in a way.”
“It’s completely transportive,” Le Bon concluded, “an album to lose yourself in.” If you’re seeking total sonic immersion in the image of Le Bon’s solo lake excursion, Leach’s work is well worth a listen. Pipe Dreams is available to listen to via Leach’s Bandcamp, on vinyl, and streaming.
