In 2001 John Cavanagh worked
extensively with Drew Mulholland in preparing the Mount
Vernon Arts Lab album The Seance At Hobs Lane.
What
started as a request for a remix became much more, as John worked with Drew editing,
mixing and recording material for the record. The Phosphene track on the cd is
Dashwood's Reverie and John also plays clarinet and harpsichord on The
Black Drop where he joins 'cellist Isobel Campbell (Gentle Waves; Belle and
Sebastian). Now, after a long spell in the bunker, Drew has re-emerged with the
debut album by Mount
Vernon Astral Temple.
It's called
Musick That Destroys Itself and is available on Eskaton/World Serpent. The first
500 copies of the cd (which quickly sold out) included a bonus disc with two tracks
adding up to nearly an extra half hour of material. The first is a live set, recorded
whem MVAL (as they were then...) supported Stereolab at the Arches in Glasgow
on 6th December 2001. John was part of the 4 piece line-up and also recorded the
set. The other track is a further Phosphene remix, originally intended for a benefit
album in aid of London's Horse Hospital venue, an idea which was never realised,
so this track appears here for the first time.