Hailed by The Wire as an ‘avant folk genius’, psychedelic outsider artist Alexander Tucker has been creating his distinctly British song cycles for many years, released firstly on ATP Records and more recently on Thrill Jockey. His music is an intensely personal world of dream-logic narratives and out-of-focus scenes, as much heavy and sonic as it is gentle and acoustic.
Tucker's sound has developed over the years since his first self-titled solo album, which featured acoustic finger-picking, experimental electronics and was released on Jackie O Motherfucker's U-Sound Archives label. He went on to combine compositional song structures, drones, layered vocals and improvisations on his 2005 album Old Fog released on ATP Recordings. This collection of spectral moods, eerie landscapes and fragile emotions was followed by Furrowed Brow (2006) and Portal (2008), where the songs and melodies became more pronounced, whilst infecting the tracks with underlying drone currents, traditional finger-picking, doom riffs and David Crosby inspired harmonies. In the past three years Tucker has signed with the US label Thrill Jockey, releasing two albums Dorwytch and 2012’s Third Mouth, both of which tend more toward psychedelic songs structures, rudimentary beats and layered instrumentation.
Tucker collaborates regularly with members of Sunn O)))) and Circle and forms half of Imbogodom with NZ’s Daniel Beban. Equally active as a visual artist, Tucker’s drawings and experimental films will be exhibited at venues during the tour. Heavily influenced by NZ psych and noise music, Tucker’s visit is an eagerly anticipated musical pilgrimage.
