Immersion, the electronic duo comprising the “life and art” couple Colin Newman from Wire and Malka Spigel from Minimal Compact, are excited to release their new single “State Of Motion,” a collaboration with ambient country trio SUSS. It’s a stunning mix of driving krautrock rhythms and Americana atmospheres taken from the two bands’ forthcoming collaborative album Nanocluster Vol. 3 and is out now on all digital platforms.
According to Colin and Malka: “The title reflects the piece as it matches Immersion’s hypnotic propulsion to SUSS’ open-skies atmospherics and the video renders a visual interpretation of the stop/start nature of the music and life itself.”
“One of the challenges of a collaboration is being led into places you never could have imagined,” adds SUSS’ Pat Irwin.
The band’s third album in their Nanocluster series will be released on February 14 on ~ swim (pre-order). The release is a mid-Atlantic melting pot of ideas that have created a brand new third way. The album sees a collaboration between the European post-punk electronic discipline of Immersion meeting the American ambient country band SUSS and their big sky, new world, Americana cinematic soundscapes to create a perfect Nanocluster!
The first pre-release single from Nanocluster Vol. 3 “In The Far Away” is on all streaming platforms for any playlist shares and the Immersion-created video can also be shared on YouTube.
Following the release of Nanocluster Vol. 3, the two bands head out on a joint tour of the U.S. The dates include performances at SXSW and Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, TN and will feature performances by Immersion and SUSS followed by a collaborative set
The upcoming tour will include shows in Dallas, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and more. Tickets for all shows are on sale now.
The debut Nanocluster album, released in September 2021 saw the Immersion core group of Colin Newman (Wire) and Malka Spigel (Minimal Compact) collaborate with Laetitia Sadier, German post-rock duo Tarwater and electronic musicians Ulrich Schnauss and Scanner.
Released in June 2024, the follow up Nanocluster Vol. 2 had guests Thor Harris – the charismatic percussion player from Swans and Cubzoa – Jack Wolter from Penelope Isles.
The latest Nanocluster adventure and collaboration with SUSS is a perfect combination that fits the Nanocluster vision. Immersion’s open-minded approach sees their music spark new textures with the American band who were once described by UNCUT magazine as “Eno’s Apollo Atmospheres crash-landed in America’s Sonoran Desert,” and by Pitchfork as “Neither rawboned nor ramshackle … their elegantly composed brand of ambient country stands as tall and clean as a brand-new pair of cowboy boots.”
Composed of veteran musicians Pat Irwin (the B-52s, Raybeats, 8 Eyed Spy), Bob Holmes (numun, Rubber Rodeo), and Jonathan Gregg (the Combine, the Linemen), SUSS combine Pedal Steel, National Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Harmonica, Baritone Guitar, and the Harmonium, which they weave with synthesizers and loops to create their big, lonesome sound.
Their fifth album, Birds & Beasts, released on Northern Spy Records in June 2024, shows the band heading off into a new direction, populating their stark landscapes with the creatures, cycles, and rhythms of the world around them.
This sense of adventure makes them perfect partners for the Nanocluster project. SUSS understood immediately the nature of this fascinating collaboration as that was already part of their creative process.
Says SUSS’ Bob Holmes, “Collaboration is an important aspect of the type of music SUSS makes. Whether we are collaborating with each other, or with musicians and artists outside of the band, the exploration and discovery of the unknown is central to our creative process. When Colin & Malka approached us to collaborate with them on Nanocluster, it seemed like a perfect fit. Their use of rhythm, synthesizers, bass and atmospherics felt very complementary to our instrumentation. As expected, the results were unexpected and our music was taken to a place where we would not have gone otherwise.”
It’s this element of surprise that sparks the best art.
As Pat Irwin from SUSS explains, “One of the challenges of a collaboration is being led into places you never could have imagined. I look forward to those challenges.”
It’s these challenges that create the sparks, as fellow SUSS member Jonathan Gregg points out: “It’s always exciting to include and react to new sounds and approaches.”
North American Tour Dates
March 14 – Austin, TX @ SXSW Music Festival
March 15 – Houston, TX @ The Orange Show
March 16 – Dallas, TX @ The Texas Theatre
March 18 – Memphis, TN @ The Green Room
March 19 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records
March 21 – Louisville, KY @ The Whirling Tiger
March 22 – Chicago, IL @ Constellation
March 23 – Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records Cass Corridor
March 25 – Pittsburgh, PA @ The Warehouse at Tech 25
March 26 – Columbus, OH @ The Old First Presbyterian Church
March 27 – Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
March 31 – Washington, D.C. @ Pie Shop
April 1 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
April 3 – Boston, MA @ The Red Room at Cafe 939
April 4 – New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub
* all North American shows with SUSS
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