Having worked with Black Autumn and Smohalla on my record label and Semiosis’ association with Assylum Arts, I had heard of the Skeksis compilations. I had just finished all the Soufferance stuff for the reissue of Forthcoming Travels and the release of Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the Mind. I wanted some extra exposure to get this album some more ears. I decided to send Jo Skeksis the full length and told him he could use any piece of it for an upcoming compilation. I was damn lucky because he was putting together a dark ambient thing together, and I was at the right time.
Jo Skeksis chose the second piece from the album, “Hills Like White Elephants”, titled from the Hemingway book. I don’t know if it represents the album well at all, but it turned out not to matter much because the full length album was delayed for a whole year, so people had nothing else to hear from the band apart from this little three minute piece, and the EP that was released by Svartglagh Records got no promotion from the label and was quickly buried by a dozen other releases. So the little promotion that this compilation did for Soufferance, brought no one closer to hearing the full material. But I must admit that most of the charts containing Soufferance material bring this song to the most played tracks.
Jo also did a short music video for the compilation which I always liked, and in fact it was this video that gave me the inspiration to do the future Soufferance videos. But I’m very disappointed by the less than ten seconds spot Soufferance got on the video. It gives very little for anyone to grab on to.
Vision Eternel was supposed to be on another Skeksis compilation, I believe around the time of Abondance De Périls, but he dropped the song from the compilation (he did that a few times to keep the releases to 10 songs). Joe and I were probably chatting through Myspace about this so the history is lost forever.
10 Songs for Free Download Vol. 9: Alone with the Rain flyer
10 Songs for Free Download Vol. 9: Alone with the Rain album front cover
- Sydney Poma – Swimming-Pool
- Rachael Please – Pig+Runt
- Autumn:Downpour:Machinery – Darewell Mountain Hold Under Siege
- The Forced Oscillations – Arctic Bloodred Moonlight Sadness
- Soufferance, Vision – Hills Like White Elephants
- Empty Vessel Music – In My Hands
- Zero Project – Disabled Emotions Suite – Part 1
- Immundus – Escape
- Seeming Emptiness – Prospect of Doom
- Somniferum – The Wind Blows Through the Wheat (Alternate Version)
compiled by Joe Skeksis
artwork by Thymournia
recorded June 2009 at Mortified Studios (MTL2)
released by Skeksis Netlabel Project
released on September 30th 2009