Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
London's Louis Carnell has progressively drawn his Visionist project away from its beginnings in club music, using his intense, boundary-pushing albums as venues for deep personal examination. Both 2015's Safe and 2017's Value interpreted the producer's battles with anxiety and isolation, expressing what words can't describe through harsh, grinding rhythmic formations and bleak, disconcerting synth-scapes. A Call to Arms is no less challenging and cathartic than those works, but it marks a major shift in Carnell's working methods as well as his sound. Letting go of the chirpy, disembodied vocal samples of his past material, here he embraces the warmth and honesty of the naked human voice, singing lyrics for the first time on his records in addition to working with a few choice collaborators. Opener "By Design" drifts through periods of static and silence, with Ben Romans-Hopcraft contributing wayward clarinet, airy guitar, and delicate vocals. "Form" establishes more of a post-industrial art-pop sound, with caustic guitar played by Wu-Lu and a slow, snapping rhythm framing Carnell's lyrics about hunger, uncertainty, and desire, given extra poignancy by Lisa E. Harris' unbound, operatic vocals. "The Fold" is a heartbreaking duet with Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr, with both artists lamenting broken hope as Matthew Bourne's steady piano playing grounds the song with a sense of clarity. "Winter Sun" is a disorienting swirl of queasy vaporwave textures, Gregorian chanting, and Ben Vince's shape-shifting saxophone, clearing for Carnell's eloquent messages of hope and gratitude. While tracks such as these are the most open and transparent that Carnell has ever been with his music, there's others that are difficult and defiant, yet compelling. Japanese noise pioneer K.K. Null adds squealing feedback to the beginning of "Allowed to Dream," which gradually smoothes itself out and becomes quite peaceful and lovely by the end. The epic "Nearly God" begins with smoldering rhythmic distortion and thudding, cinderblock-heavy kick drums, which eventually drop out as the track's hallucinatory clock chimes and ghostly vocals take over. "Lie Digging" similarly approaches the gritty avant-techno of labels like Opal Tapes, with a crackling drum loop (courtesy of black midi's Morgan Simpson) pumping away under whirring, glitching machinery. A Call to Arms occupies a unique space in Visionist's catalogue, as it's a fractured, inconsistent record, yet it seems like he's baring more of his soul than ever, and it certainly marks a turning point in the direction he's taking his music.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $17.49/month
Ben Romans Hopcraft, Composer - Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist - Ben Romans-Hopcraft, FeaturedArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
KK Null, FeaturedArtist - Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist - Kazayuki Kishino, Composer
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist - Haley Fohr, Composer, FeaturedArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Visionist, Composer, Producer, MainArtist
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Album review
London's Louis Carnell has progressively drawn his Visionist project away from its beginnings in club music, using his intense, boundary-pushing albums as venues for deep personal examination. Both 2015's Safe and 2017's Value interpreted the producer's battles with anxiety and isolation, expressing what words can't describe through harsh, grinding rhythmic formations and bleak, disconcerting synth-scapes. A Call to Arms is no less challenging and cathartic than those works, but it marks a major shift in Carnell's working methods as well as his sound. Letting go of the chirpy, disembodied vocal samples of his past material, here he embraces the warmth and honesty of the naked human voice, singing lyrics for the first time on his records in addition to working with a few choice collaborators. Opener "By Design" drifts through periods of static and silence, with Ben Romans-Hopcraft contributing wayward clarinet, airy guitar, and delicate vocals. "Form" establishes more of a post-industrial art-pop sound, with caustic guitar played by Wu-Lu and a slow, snapping rhythm framing Carnell's lyrics about hunger, uncertainty, and desire, given extra poignancy by Lisa E. Harris' unbound, operatic vocals. "The Fold" is a heartbreaking duet with Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr, with both artists lamenting broken hope as Matthew Bourne's steady piano playing grounds the song with a sense of clarity. "Winter Sun" is a disorienting swirl of queasy vaporwave textures, Gregorian chanting, and Ben Vince's shape-shifting saxophone, clearing for Carnell's eloquent messages of hope and gratitude. While tracks such as these are the most open and transparent that Carnell has ever been with his music, there's others that are difficult and defiant, yet compelling. Japanese noise pioneer K.K. Null adds squealing feedback to the beginning of "Allowed to Dream," which gradually smoothes itself out and becomes quite peaceful and lovely by the end. The epic "Nearly God" begins with smoldering rhythmic distortion and thudding, cinderblock-heavy kick drums, which eventually drop out as the track's hallucinatory clock chimes and ghostly vocals take over. "Lie Digging" similarly approaches the gritty avant-techno of labels like Opal Tapes, with a crackling drum loop (courtesy of black midi's Morgan Simpson) pumping away under whirring, glitching machinery. A Call to Arms occupies a unique space in Visionist's catalogue, as it's a fractured, inconsistent record, yet it seems like he's baring more of his soul than ever, and it certainly marks a turning point in the direction he's taking his music.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:39
- Main artists: Visionist
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Mute
- Genre: Electronic
2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd. 2020 Visionist under exclusive license to Mute Artists Ltd.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.