"Through a Screen and Into a Hole moves away from the vignette approach of Midnight Doctors' eponymous debut in favour of more focussed and expansive instrumentals. The album continues to mutate and exaggerate various absorbed inspirations from the margins, back-catalogues and bargain bins of culture (particularly soundtracks); the avant-garde (various brow-heights) and traditional musics, but this time is particularly informed by cosmic Impulse! jazz, 60s baroque pop productions and decades of cop themes (all viewed through a skewed psychedelic lens)."-Ourodisc

"Before evolving into a fragile, sporadic gigging entity, Midnight Doctors was born as a long-term studio project/mutant big band- collaging styles and approaches, indefinable by any of its individual constituent parts- which include scored pieces, structured improvisations, (mostly) loving pastiche, cut-up jams, hi-fi and lo-fi textures and electroacoustic flourishes.

Through a Screen and Into a Hole moves away from the vignette approach of Midnight Doctors' eponymous debut in favour of more focussed and expansive instrumentals. Continuing to mutate and exaggerate various absorbed inspirations from the margins, back-catalogues and bargain bins of culture (particularly soundtracks); the avant-garde (various brow-heights) and traditional musics, the album is particularly informed by cosmic Impulse! jazz, 60s baroque pop productions and decades of cop themes (all viewed through a skewed psychedelic lens), but it is equally inspired by the diffuse tradition of artists who have treated the production/recording process as an integral part of the composition itself- particularly the shoestring experimentations of Joe Meek, the studio recordings of Faust & Neu! (with Uwe Nettelbeck & Conny Plank respectively), Wall of Sound, and more broadly speaking, electroacoustic music and experimental cinema sound design.

Bios

The project is led by composer/producer/sound designer Phil Begg, who has worked under the project name Hapsburg Braganza since 2006, gigging and releasing albums of blurry-edged solo electric guitar, electroacoustic composition and experimental electronics- most recently working with modular synth. Releases include the double LP Recurring Dreams on Newcastle's alt.vinyl, Hatchling CD on Belgium's Idiosyncratics Records, and several mini-albums on his own label Ouroboros Recordings (now Ourodisc). As a sound recordist, he has recorded albums for many of the North East's most exciting artists, including Richard Dawson (The Magic Bridge), Rhodri Davies (Wound Response) and Cath & Phil Tyler (The Song-Crowned King; We Sunk The Ship To Get Rid of the Rats).

Through a Screen and Into a Hole features significant creative contributions from a diverse mix of musicians of different musical backgrounds, including drummer Christian Alderson (The Unit Ama, The Long Lonesome Go), double bassist John Pope (who is increasingly working with top improvisers, e.g. Roger Turner, Mick Beck) and saxophonist Faye MacCalman, whose own brand-new quartet Archipelago is making waves in local jazz and improv circles; the tape skronk titan Joe Murray, better known as Posset; and an explosive cameo from Richard Dawson, whose voice soars in full flight on the album's longest track, Climactic Loss."-