Nine is the Level is the ambient/post-rock project of my friend and neighbour Doug Tolley. The Crumbs EP came out digitally in May 2021, but it's now seeing it's proper release on vinyl. This one is more melodic and accessible than other releases, and the track 'Tatty Old Red Bag' in particular hits Mogwai notes with some epic guitar drone.
Crumbs follows on from my first EP Oscillations and I really wanted to inject more melody with post rock and shoegaze elements. The song Crumbs is a bridge between the two EP's.
I wanted to mention it on my journal because of the love and detail Doug is putting into this release. Each copy has a different original vintage photograph attached to the sleeve, and the sleeve notes are hand typed onto vintage school exercise book paper.
The title comes from the first words Doug's grandfather Gordon Tolley speaks on the EP. Gordon spent many years on his own after his wife Doris died in the early 1980's. Suffering from chronic loneliness, Gordon used to record himself listening to the radio and talking about events of the time. The voice samples are taken from his old reel to reel recordings.
It charts the story of a few days over the weekend of February 2nd/3rd 1990 after a storm passed over the country taking down trees and causing mass flooding. Gordon recorded his reaction to these events and spoke of sporting contests being held over that weekend (Brighton Vs Leicester in the football and England Vs France in the rugby). The first 30 copies of the EP will even include a copy of the match programmes!
