DAMA LIBRA is the enthralling new collaboration between two revered veterans of the national indie and avant rock scenes, Joel RL Phelps (formerly of underground rock legends, Silkworm, and currently working with his own band, The Downer Trio) and G. Stuart Dahlquist (formerly of doom metal progenitors, Burning Witch/SunnO))), and currently of Asva). They are proud to be releasing their first full-length album as a duo, Claw, on Northern Spy Records in summer 2014. Combining the unique talents of both artists, Claw is a pronouncement of lush composition – teeming with a quiet intensity, subtle beauty, and pulsating with moments of raw, emotional catharsis. Upon hearing the 2011 collaboration between Asva and French avant artist, Phillipe Petit, Phelps reached out to Dahlquist and proposed the addition of his vocals to an instrumental track he had found particularly moving. Despite having been friends and colleagues for nearly 25 years, discussions about working on a serious project together for the very first time began when a listen through the resulting piece (entitled “Thine”) nearly brought Dahlquist and his wife to tears. With Phelps living in British Columbia and Dahlquist residing in Seattle, all recording and composition for Claw was conducted in their respective home studios and transmitted via email over an 18-month period. The results are a profound representation of their individual yet somehow synchronous growth and maturity as artists. The mutual respect and trust both musicians have for and share with one another is evident in how far they pushed themselves to realize their combined work’s full potential and create what may be the strongest material either of them have ever put forth.
