The Beacons, by Vic Mars

The Beacons

by Vic Mars

supported by

shane Anything released on Clay Pipe Music should be deserving of your attention. The new Vic Mars album is no exception. From the second that the low synth drone segues in to announce its arrival, we are transported on a wonderful journey across the Beacons and its surrounding geography. For maximum enjoyment, pop on your headphones and marvel at the artwork as you listen. Favorite track: Foel Fraith.

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

£7 GBP or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Turquoise vinyl, 600 hand-numbered copies in a reverse card cover with printed inner sleeve.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Beacons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 4 days

Purchasable with gift card

£21.99 GBP or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Glass mastered CD in a gatefold card sleeve, with a separate inner slipcase.

Includes unlimited streaming of The Beacons via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 4 days

Purchasable with gift card

£11 GBP or more

1.	Picws Du 03:29	buy track
2.	Foel Fraith 04:37	buy track
3.	Corn Du 03:32	buy track
4.	Memorial Cairn 04:36	buy track
5.	Y Gyrn 02:47	buy track
6.	MF 509 02:47	buy track
7.	Pen Y Fan 03:58	buy track
8.	Cwm Llwch 03:46	buy track
9.	The Obelisk 03:38	buy track
10.	Sandstone and Fern 04:06	buy track
11.	Maen Llia 04:20	buy track
12.	Ystradfellte 02:30	buy track

about

Also available through our Greedbag shop:
claypipemusic.greedbag.com/buy/the-beacons/

Clay Pipe Music is thrilled to announce The Beacons by Vic Mars - the enigmatic producers third full length LP for the label. Since 2019s Inner Roads and Outer Paths his music has found a new audience having been used as the soundtrack to the game I am Dead by British interactive studio Hollow Ponds.

While his previous two albums were inspired by the pastoral landscapes of Herefordshire, The Beacons, embarks on a journey westward into Wales, inviting listeners into the rugged terrain of the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains. Using a darker more ominous sonic palette, and pushing the sound of the Moog synthesizer to the fore, The Beacons captures the feel of mountains silhouetted against dramatic skies, craggy summits and the overall grandeur of the landscape and its rich folklore.

Stories of plane crashes, a monument honouring a missing boy, and legends such the mysterious door within Llyn Cwm Llwch lake— said to open to an invisible island - all helped shape the making of the record. With the addition of live drums, viola, a Juno 60 and field recordings alongside his distinctive Mellotrons and flutes, Vic has explored new ground, but still maintains the melodic interest and home spun charm of his earlier records.

Although now based in London Vic grew up in Hereford, in winter time the distant ice capped peaks of the Beacons served as a childhood barometer, a hopeful indicator that the city might also be graced with snow. In better weather there were days out with family or friends, clambering up Pen-y-fan or visiting the beautiful waterfalls at Ystradfellte. All these formative experiences seep into the music on this record, weaving an enchanting spell that captures the vastness of the mountain ranges and the stories they tell.

credits

released November 10, 2023

license

about

Clay Pipe Music UK

'An entrancing record label built on a foundation of arcadian sounds and gorgeous graphic design'. Shindig

shows

Sep 6

Glad Café

Glasgow, UK
Sep 8

The Blue Lamp

Aberdeen, UK
Sep 10

Hyde Park Book Club

Leeds, UK
Sep 11

Gullivers

Manchester, UK
Sep 12

Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath

Birmingham, UK
Sep 13

The Crofters Rights

Bristol, UK
Sep 14

The Lexington

London, UK
Sep 15

Real Magic Books

Wendover, UK
Sep 17

Cumberland Arms

Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Sep 18

Kazimier Stockroom

Liverpool, UK
Sep 20

Summerhall

Edinburgh, UK

contact / help

Contact Clay Pipe Music

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Beacons, you may also like:

Common Grounds
by The Hardy Tree

supported by 93 fans who also own “The Beacons”

Just glorious. Beautiful, arresting, haunting melodies rendered with delicate pulses of always unusual, sometimes mysterious sound. My idea of IDM... everything on this label is outstanding. AllanB
go to album
Interim Report, March 1979
by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

supported by 92 fans who also own “The Beacons”

Amazing!!! I missed out on the vinyl. Hopefully there’s a 3rd pressing of this release in the future. So far, my favorite album of 2021 Worm Tamer
go to album
Stagdale EP Part 1
by The Hardy Tree

supported by 85 fans who also own “The Beacons”

I am so delighted to have discovered the music of The Hardy Tree and Frances Castle's illustrative work as well. Her music is wonderfully evocative and strange. Buy everything! I am looking forward to Stagdale Part 2! Dez Foley
go to album
Close Encounters of the Pennine Kind
by The Night Monitor

This modular synth masterwork from The Night Monitor was inspired by Alan Godfrey’s alien abduction story. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 13, 2023
go to album
A THOUSAND STRANDS
by THE DANDELION SET & ALAN MOORE

featured on Bandcamp Radio May 10, 2016
go to album
THE WEEPING TREE
by REVBJELDE

featured on Bandcamp Radio Aug 19, 2014
go to album
The Nation's Most Central Location.
by Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan

supported by 85 fans who also own “The Beacons”

This is very close to what I heard/felt everytime we visited the grandparents in Runcorn. Ominous dread. Bleak dystopia. Concrete and terraced houses. Plus the air smells! MonkeyMajiks
go to album