DREAM INTO DUST - The Lathe of Heaven - CD - 11 tracks - Chthonic Streams - 2003

The New York Based artist Derek Rush started his own project Dream Into Dust in 1997, developing a dark industrial / experimental sound in which conventional instruments and melodies share space with dissonant and noisy experimentations. Though his music may seem rather confidential, it is in my opinion largely accessible. More than being a solo project of Derek Rush, Dream Into Dust is a collective project with additional members. One of the most frequent members is the guitarist Bryin Dall, known for his membership to Thee Majesty, Genesis P-Orridge's band, and also known for his own projects such as Loretta's Doll and 4th Sign of the Apocalypse. Bryin and Derek also have a common dark-ambient project called A Murder of Angels. There's also Eddy Malave, a classically-trained viola and violin player, amongst other contributors.

From the strong industrial roots of the beginning, Derek introduced some dark folk elements as well to his music, and this is particularly evident in his latest release " The Lathe of Heaven". But rather than being predominant, this latest influence is being so personally treated that the whole sounds become as an entity. Derek's music surprisingly sounds like pop music or folk songs, surrounded by industrial and experimental electronic soundscapes. It sometimes makes me think of a crossover of Martyn Bates's Eyeless in Gaza and Martin Gore's solo recordings. "How the Roses burned" is a particularly beautiful song, with acoustic guitar, dreamy atmosphere and ethereal vocals, reminding me of a mixture of The Field Mice, That Petrol Emotion and Orplid. "Sleep in dead Time" ends like a Pixies song and the nice and sober folk song "Internal Return" is rather close to Radiohead's sound with a dark folk spirit.

A very rich and ambitious album that I recommend to any opened-minded soul.

Stéphane F.
Spring 2005

Contact : www.chthonicstreams.com

Discography :
- No Man's Land, MCD, Chthonic Streams, 1997
- A Prison For Oneself, 7'' + CS, Chthonic Streams, 1997
- The World We Have Lost, CD, Elfenblut / Misanthropy, 1999
- Salvation's Corridor/Crystall Mirrors, 7'', Athanor, 2002
- The Lathe Of Heaven, CD, Chthonic Streams, 2003