”Our inspiration was the dirt, and our limits were paved in insanity”

Dear potential reader,

In the aftermath of the standard BOF-conference and annual dick fest, the meeting notes clearly stated no communication with any potential readers or listeners were to take place about any atcn activities. No golden tombs of internet fame should be erected about the generous and inglorious history of the band. And as such, our feigned heroes went into a fictional hiding with the subsequent result of zero updates here or anywhere else. So, as it is, this spectral organization has been a well-kept secret for many a-years and it is just recently, at a new and much more vigorous BOF-conference (as well as living encyclopaedia of socio-political fetisches) they’ve decided to unwind this complex operation of secrecy and start unraveling the wonders of their produce.

We start this break-out from secrecy with this sweet and simple sample of tunes derived from the hinterland of their career. This sample consists of ten uniquely odd specimens described in embarrassingly high detail below. The album has been recorded over an undisclosed stretch of time in a whole bunch of different locations around our spheric world. In total about a dozen fine gentlemen and ladies have contributed from Dj_Vomit to Bo Blaze or Conrad Haifa and Marty Ekelund. Overall they believe it to be a merry, motley mix. Reality is fictional. Fiction is life. Life is art. Enjoy you delightful motherfucker!

• Let’s start this conscious, fantastical odyssey with We Remember You – a post-punk-industrial little pop-song. As one fan once described it: “makes me sick, but you know, in the right way.” They have no idea what that means but the song sounds a little like Iggy Pop, or at least that’s what I’m told, and maybe there’s something there. That guy is pretty ugly.
• Let’s follow-up with Unsentimental Deathlist and kick it up a notch (like any good mix should, as prescribed by Rob Fleming). Being a post-modern dance-party originally written for a highly surreal film about a red-head with an imaginary friend. It’s a rhythmic story that will fill your soul’s desire for disco, dance and dysfunctionality. Feel the beat and manipulate your movement.
• What is next? Let’s travel across the skies, over factories and oil storage facilities, drifting on the wind of the current decade – where you, my imaginary friend, will find Hamburg: A traveling phrasebook about that wonderful city. Beautifully scored with dark and ominous melodies; descriptive lyrics about all that loss, betrayal and saudade that ancient city is known for.
• So what do you know about botany and trees that never die, where do they grow? Is it perhaps on Fulufjället in Dalarna, Sweden, where that really, really old tree grows? That tree sure is old. But no, it is not. It is of course in God’s ol’ big land Heaven – that pie in the sky you get to have when you die – Where Trees That Never Die Grow. And it is also where my, your and their faith is in the beautiful and eternal.
• Fall Beautifully is a humble experiment in bombastic frailty about the evolution of man from fish. Recorded along Highway 61 in the legendary No Sound studios with ancient Germanic technology. According to semi-canon sources it’s a personal favorite of at least one of the founding members.
• You Created the Wind; an old ecclesiastical song with deeply religious undertones originally found on the lost tapes of the “May 25th” project and the subsequent Saintly Singles. Praising the lord in the proud proper tradition of the depressing psalms!
• Far Away; returning from a stint in the big wide world, one of the founding members found himself in the general disillusionment of returning to an old new city by an old lake. Disturbed, displeased, and slightly irritated by the sports and sportcars lifestyle the folks presented on his return. This stream-of-conciousness narrative documents this crazy dream.
• The Truth Shall Set You Free; many years ago, in the days of the infinite adventures of the legendary power duo, our postmodern heroes set out to explore ”what it all means.” Many books were read and many a-wikipedia page examined in search of this brilliantly beautiful question. However, during this time, little a-pussy was explored and much a-dick was jerked-off – so our heroes abandoned their glorious quest to win a woman’s favor. There, in the dark darkness where all lights have gone out, God came down from heaven, and delivered to our post-modern heroes a truth: the truth is not only what will set you free, it is not there at all! There aren’t any truths in this beautiful world. O’boy was this a surprising twist. Not least coming from God himself!?
• Sent; the last of the heavenly tracks on the Saintly Singles compilation. A fine tune written in the mythical world of Westeros about the initial stages of a breakup with a loved one. In this case the ultimate lover: God. A deeply moving song about life, love and those missing parts. They had it there, they had it together but unfortunately not til’ the end of time, you know, not forever.
• Leaving; atcn has a reputation of being something in the way of graveyard aficionados. They pride themselves as viewing graveyards in the only proper way. As God’s groomed compost. It is with great reverence they visit these sites. The sacred decomposing process is a deeply spiritual experience. It is at one of these holy visits they came across the glass-eyed man, leaving the churchyard alone.

Dear you go mon ami, ten songs. Personally I’m deeply fond of this collection. Perhaps most so of ”The truth shall set you free”, an inspirational prog-pop song. I hope you also find your sweet sonic spot on these neo-retro-modernistic meadows. So, let’s wrap this up. Atcn is a strange creature, one half european, one half american, and one half sino. You can find the band here, on Soundcloud and on Spotify. Well, I guess you can find them on a bunch of other places as well. But their presence is most strongly felt there.

See you around.

/Brad – Forester and wizard in the Grand Lodge of the Masons of Truth