Russell Haswell has announced details of a new album, “Deep Time”, set for release on April 18th 2025 via Diagonal Records.

The latest 12” LP represents Russell’s sixth outing for Diagonal and comes off the back of a productive 2024 for the label which saw the release of the “13” anniversary 4 x 12” compilation and adjacent UK tour which saw the artist play a play a significant part. He now returns to deliver “Deep Time”, an album of broad scope which nods to a wide array of influences.

Russell Haswell is a restlessly forward-thinking, multi-disciplinary artist, performer and curator. With a background steeped in computer music, black metal, noise, techno and solo improvisation, his practice is renowned for broaching the extremities of visual and sonic arts.

He’s taken part in collaborative performances with the likes of Aphex Twin, Sue Tompkins, Gescom, Pan Sonic, Merzbow, Yasunao Tone, Hecker and more. As well as Diagonal, Russell has represented Warp Records, Editions Mego, iDeal, Downwards and Warner Classics via previous projects.

His past curations have included exhibitions at New York’s PS1, TBA 21 in Vienna and music festival All Tomorrows Parties in London. In 2024, Russell composed and performed with experimental choir, Musarc; “The Truth is as Elusive as Ever”, an opera commissioned by the London Contemporary Music Festival [LCMF].

“DEEP TIME”, in Russell’s words, “is a reflection on the current state of the nation and of the world”.

It’s an amalgam of influences, from European Free Improvised Music (“Rungled Irridium”), Detroit & Birmingham Techno (“Deep Time”, “Atropine”), Dutch Gabber (“Satellite Killer”) and 70’s and 80’s Science Fiction Soundtracks (“International Globalisation”).

Like all works by Haswell, “Deep Time” explores and ponders a variety of themes. Russell’s long held preoccupation with minute by minute geopolitical developments picks up where his previous Diagonal album, “Reality Therapy”, left off. These tracks were honed in the wake of failed assassination attempts, crypto currency meltdowns and feverish speculation surrounding ground – to – space warfare.

The album’s main musing however is the incomprehensible scale of time. Namely, how we measure and record our Earth’s history and beyond – from mere nanoseconds to the universe’s suggested 13.8 billion years of existence.

It all comes down to geology and Haswell’s recent trips to the Scottish Hebrides amid news reports on the Siccar Point rock formations , where two adjoining rock types had been laid bare. These expeditions provided the artist with an opportunity to glean the central tenants of this new album.

“Unconformity” on side B of “Deep Time”, an album highlight, derives its name from 18th century geologist James Hutton’s discovery of junctions between two types of rock formations, a phenomenon which to this day aids us in tracking the age of our planet. A graphical representation of this concept features in the typography used for the album’s sleeve design which was devised by Hamish Muir and Paul McNeil.

MuirMcNeil, who have previously worked with Factory Records / The Hacienda, Juan Atkins, Durutti Column and more, is a design practice founded in 2009 by Paul McNeil and Hamish Muir. Its activities are focussed on exploring systematic methods in design for visual communication.