Text by Venalism Label:

“Dance Of Plague And Knives” is a work of unrestrained horror, anger, convulsion and tragedy. A ferocious example of performance as a means of visceral expulsion, with all three performers finding an incredible unity, both sonically and symbolically, within the terrifying, impellent force of this breathtaking music.

Anchored by the sinewy drones of a wheeled lyre, these ritualistic mantras form, build and recede through thundering percussive passages, bowed/hacked strings, throbbing brass and shrieking reeds. Utilising both regionally traditional and ancestral instrumentation and the discarded junk of modernity, these blunt and venereal incantations are heightened to profane levels by Darja Kazimira’s breathtaking voice, capable of vehement guttural bellows, whisper-quiet trills and rapturous, unbridled waves of raw phonatory power. Combined with the sheer force and weight of the music created by these three collaborators, “Dance Of Plague And Knives” conspires to be a staggering and acutely affecting release.

Darja Kazimira has worked with groundbreaking labels like Cyclic Law and Aurora Borealis, plus also recently released a collaborative album with Zura Makharadze on the Unexplained Sounds Group label. DLGVS has prior to this eschewed standard audio documentation, instead chronicling on video their intimate, haunting performances in numerous abandoned buildings around Tbilisi.

As per the wishes of the artists, "Dance Of Plague And Knives" will only be available on cassette, no digital format, and copies are limited strictly to 20. Each copy is housed in a cloth bag sleeve, then presented in a stamped wooden box alongside a print of a triptych designed exclusively for this release by Sagart Alhague.

Released January 1, 2024