Cameron Deyell & Laurence Pike

Drawing from their 20 plus year history as collaborators and friends, New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based guitarist and composer Cameron Deyell (Liars, Sia), and Sydney drummer/composer/producer Laurence Pike (Liars, PVT, Szun Waves, Triosk, Jack Ladder), have combined forces as a duo for the first time on Isola.

Italian for island, Isola represents the geographical isolation of their home in Australia, a continent renowned for its vastness and subsequent poetic responses to its natural singularity. It’s also reflective of the profound influence of the open ocean, with Deyell having recently sailed the boat he was living in from California to Fiji just prior to making the album. The recent history of the pair’s output as members of avant-punk legends Liars has also been a strong influence, with Isola emerging directly after the completed sessions of their acclaimed 2021 release The Apple Drop. 

Isola echoes the jazz futurism of the 1970s. Ralph Towner and Eberhard Weber’s excursions for ECM, Brian Eno’s self-generating experiments, the fourth world mysticism of Jon Hassell, as well as Pike’s own recent forays into spiritual improvisation and electronics as both a solo artist and as part of the UK’s Szun Waves (with modular synth master Luke Abbott). Joined by multi-instrumentalist Jasper Leak (Sia, Quincy Jones), they celebrate the LP/CD release of Isola on Endless Recordings, as they make their debut Sydney live performance in the nest at Phoenix Central Park.