Black International make music that dwells in the dark spaces between the floorboards, the cracks in the walls. There are two of them, but their gut wrenching sound could fill a catacomb.
Band members Stewart Allan (vocals, guitar & keyboards) and Craig Peebles (drums & percussion), from Midlothian, Scotland, took over a former Victorian manse and temporarily transformed it into a working studio.
This allowed the duo to live and breathe the creative processes of their sophomore album, improvising structures, words and arrangements. With the aid of sound engineer Andrew Bush (The Twilight Sad), they were successfully able to capture the raw, visceral energy of their live show in combination with more textural and stripped-back work, creating music with elements of contemporaries such as Shellac, The Fall and Sonic Youth, but also drawing from wider sources in electronica and post-rock.
A Lesson In Repression is Black International’s second album, following their debut In Debt. They’ve used it as a means to reset their creative boundaries, and open up new avenues for exploration. Live, they’ve graced the stages of Wickerman, Tramlines, GoNorth and Oxjam Festivals, have heard their music played on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio Scotland and have supported the likes of Speedy Ortiz and Die! Die! Die! The remainder of 2015 will involve the release of the forthcoming album, live performances throughout the UK and may even see them take over another unsuspecting space to record their next EP.
A Lesson In Repression is released via Good Grief Records on 30th October 2015.