Tim Etchells reads a text about a room where everything keeps getting heavier: objects, thoughts, the walls themselves, until nothing can move. Pouya Ehsaei builds the track around him with drum machine, synths and sampler, adding parts one at a time so the sound thickens with the words. By the end, the electronics carry the same pressure as the text, dense and distorted, with a clear debt to 1990s industrial music. “And Heavier” is the latest single from the debut album by London project From the Lips to the Moon, released today on Akazib Records.

Iranian-British composer, live electronic musician and sound designer Pouya Ehsaei and Tehran-born, London-based writer, performer and performance maker Tara Fatehi began From the Lips to the Moon at Reference Point in London in 2022. On stage, the performance series takes the form of a long improvised exchange between live electronics, spoken text, guest musicians, poets, DJs and live visuals, with the cast changing from one edition to the next. The series later moved through Café OTO, the Southbank Centre, the V&A and Grand Junction, and has also travelled to Berlin, Mexico City, Cologne, Tijuana and Nice. Alongside the performances, the project has produced two poetry-and-sound publications, In times of darkness and Noise Complaint.

The self-titled debut album, due on 8 May, was recorded live at Lightship 95 Studio on the Thames with engineer Dave Holmes, then rearranged and produced by Ehsaei. Across twelve tracks it features Tamar Osborn on baritone saxophone and clarinet, Kareem Dayes on cello, Yelfris Valdes on trumpet, Hammadi Valdes on drums and congas, Koroleko Moussa on balafon and djembe, and spoken-word contributions from MA.MOYO, Nisha Ramayya and others. The album launch is scheduled for 15 May at Café OTO.

Stream “And Heavier” via Akazib Records, and pre-order your copy of From the Lips to the Moon HERE