Stephen O’Malley, co-founder of Sunn O))), has announced a new solo album in collaboration with XKatedral and La Becque Editions, set for release on February 27, 2026.
The forthcoming record features two long-form compositions for pipe organ, composed by O’Malley and performed by O’Malley, Kali Malone, and Frederikke Hoffmeier. The album was recorded on the historic Les Grandes Orgues — a composite instrument built by Scherrer (1777), Walker (1867), and Kuhn (1995) — at Église Saint-François in Lausanne, Switzerland, during December 2021.
The material originated as part of Les Sphères (effondrez-les) Phases I–V, a suite composed by O’Malley for a collaboration with Belgian/Swiss choreographer Cindy Van Acker. The pipe organ works expand on that framework, translating its physical and spatial intensity into a purely sonic form.
Best known for his work in drone and experimental music, O’Malley has spent more than two decades shaping the outer limits of heavy and minimalist sound. Alongside Sunn O))), his projects include KTL and Khanate, and his broader artistic output spans music, visual art, and interdisciplinary performance.
His collaborators over the years have included Scott Walker, Alvin Lucier, Kali Malone, Peter Rehberg, Jim Jarmusch, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Gisèle Vienne, Dennis Cooper, Alan Moore, and institutions such as IRCAM.
The album was recorded by O’Malley himself and later mixed at EMS in Stockholm, as well as in Paris by François-Xavier Delaby and Tristan Mazire in February 2022. Mastering and lacquer cutting were handled by Rashad Becker in Berlin in June 2025, with vinyl pressing completed at Optimal Media in Germany.
Pre-orders for Spheres Collapser are available here.
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