The beauty in decay. Mold represents this so well: its textures, colours, and its all-consuming nature. Transposing them on KeeAvil’s body, portrays something visceral, real, but a bit abstract, where beauty and disgust coexist. For the cover of Spine, I developed a custom nutrient-media / barrier-film that served as a growth medium for various fungal species while providing a protective layer between the fungus and the wearer. By carefully inoculating the media with selected mold cultures, I swabbed KeeAvil’s initials onto nutrient plates to grow graphic elements for the rest of the vinyl and merchandise. Working collaboratively with makeup-megamind - Carole Méthot - we applied these pre-cultured fungal blooms like prosthetics or stickers, precisely placing individual pieces/species to achieve an organic balanced aesthetic with painterly control.

CREDITS

Art direction by Kee Avil and Jacqueline Beaumont
Photography by Fatine-Violette Sabiri 
Makeup by Carole Methot
Assisted by Zachary Scholes 
Released on Constellation Records

written by Kee Avil.
Strings on tracks 6 & 7 by Mark Molnar.
Double bass on tracks 3 & 6 by Raph Foisy.
Samples on track 6 by Antoine Simard + Matthieu Gilbert-Thévard.
Produced by Kee Avil and Zach Scholes.
Recorded and mixed by Zach Scholes.
Mastered by Guy Hébert at Concrete Mastering.


Critical Acclaim :

"When held up next to the shadowy records that preceded it, Spine still comes across particularly bone chilling—a whispered secret of grave importance." - Bandcamp • ALBUM OF THE DAY

"Kee Avil’s skeletal grooves hit with an urgent intimacy. Each individual sound is diamond sharp, but there is a softness in their application. Like the tiny hooks that cover the surface of a cat’s tongue, the effect is both abrasive and enticing." - The Wire

"The bone and marrow-shaking electro blues on Spine also illustrate her process of digging herself out and feeling herself again. For such a feat of strength you have to make yourself lean and sinewy - like this album, freed from all frills and decorations, by an extraordinary artist whose second attempt is even more impressive than the first.” - Der Spiegel • ALBUM OF THE WEEK