Tom McDowell has kept himself pretty busy since the summer of 2020 with the launch of his label Library of the Occult. The first release for his synth-heavy record label was his own Dream Division’s The Devil Rides Out, a musical interpretation of Dennis Wheatley’s occult classic novel. That album opened the door to three years of classic releases from artists as diverse as Timothy Fife, Ogre, The Psychic Circle, The Heartwood Institute, Ivan The Tolerable, Missionary Work, and many, many others.
McDowell has kept Dream Division busy over these three years as well. Besides releasing albums on LOTO he also put out the excellent Beyond The Mirror’s Image with Burning Witches Records(R.I.P.). The latest Library Of The Occult release is from Dream Division, out 8/4. The album is Lumarian and it sounds and feels like a sequel of sorts to a Dream Division classic, Transcend(2019). Hazy synths, cosmic vibes, and touches of Komische throughout, and along with a fantastic narrative to accompany the album written by McDowell this will be a Dream Division future classic.
Today Complex Distractions is premiering the third track from Lumarian called “Odyssey ft Jorja Chalmers”. “Odyssey” is an ethereal, eerie, and hazy soundscape of a track, putting us into the world of Lumarian with touches of Sinoia Caves, Tangerine Dream, and some truly otherworldly saxophone work by Australian saxophonist/keyboardist Jorja Chalmers. Chalmers has worked with such diverse artists as Bryan Ferry, Take That, and Ting Tings. In 2019 Chalmers released her debut album Human Again on Italians Do It Better, with her sophomore release Midnight Train following in 2021.
McDowell explains more about Lumarian below.
On how ‘Lumarian’ came about:
“This has been an album I’ve been working on for around 4 years! Some come quick and I can write and record in a month, like ‘The Devil Rides Out’ but this was just a project that for some reason or another took its time. The final piece to be recorded was “Dimension X”, and once I’d finished that track I knew the album was done. It was a great feeling to finally have it wrapped up.”
On themes and inspiration for the album:
It has more of a sci-fi feel, like a sequel to my first album ‘Transcend’. The inspiration was to create something that would work as a soundtrack to a Michael Moorcock novel. I also wanted to try and do a solely electronic record again, as most Dream Division records now are more of a band feel with guitar and real drums.
On the collaboration with Jorja Chalmers:
“The collaboration with Jorja actually came around after Dream Division performed at the Death Waltz Halloween party in Margate (2018 I think). Jorja was at the gig. I was a huge fan of her album on Italians Do It Better and “Odyssey” was actually one of the first tracks recorded for the album.“
Listen to “Odyssey ft Jorja Chalmers” below. ‘Lumarian’ drops 8/4 on Library of the Occult.
Complex Distractions 