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Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (IA11 Edition)
Alabaster DePlume - To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 (IA11 Edition)
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To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 is a collection of Mancunian poet, singer, saxophonist and composer Alabaster DePlume’s simple and serenely intimate wordless adventures in melodic ennui. The collection properly introduced the world to a previously under-exposed, undeniably deep dimension of DePlume who, at the time of the its release, was most known to his followers for his music with words, his poetry, and his prowess as an impassioned orator. His performances (especially those that were part of his monthly Peach residency at Total Refreshment Centre in London) were becoming legendary for blurring the boundaries between secular sermon, theatrical monologue and song, as he turned audiences into experimental large ensembles and lead full-throated shout-alongs to tunes like “Is It Enough” and “Be Nice To People” (both from his 2019 Lost Map album The Corner of a Sphere). The instrumental pieces that quietly buffered the big vocal moments of his recorded catalog, to that point, had mostly lived, quietly, in those buffers.
We’re not really sure what inspired DePlume to gather all of his recorded instrumentals, add a couple new ones, and invite International Anthem to collaborate on the campaign (we had only recently been getting to know him a little deeper, after our second trip to Total Refreshment Centre in the fall of 2018 when we recorded jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise). But what we do know is, not long after To Cy & Lee’s February 2020 release and the subsequent arrival of a global pandemic, those recordings went very far, very fast, taking on a new life as stay-at-home hits — the quiet catharsis we didn’t know we needed in the face of rapidly unfolding confusion, fear, and isolation. As the people of the world found themselves inside their small rooms, they began to search for smaller, more intentional sounds to fill them. These instrumentals carried the healing qualities we were after then, and still seek now. As we cite on the obi strip, the music is an antidote with seemingly ancient sonic characteristics, and a unique ability to embrace the core of our very being.
To Cy & Lee was also the first document of an ongoing collaboration between DePlume and International Anthem, which has already yielded the albums GOLD (2022), Come With Fierce Grace (2023), and A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole (2025), in addition to sundry singles and EPs. The depth of partnership between DePlume and our crew that has developed since To Cy & Lee, coupled with the endlessly quenching spiritual comforts the album continues to provide, makes it an absolute essential of the International Anthem catalog and a proud choice for the final three of the IA11 series.
We’re not really sure what inspired DePlume to gather all of his recorded instrumentals, add a couple new ones, and invite International Anthem to collaborate on the campaign (we had only recently been getting to know him a little deeper, after our second trip to Total Refreshment Centre in the fall of 2018 when we recorded jaimie branch’s FLY or DIE II: bird dogs of paradise). But what we do know is, not long after To Cy & Lee’s February 2020 release and the subsequent arrival of a global pandemic, those recordings went very far, very fast, taking on a new life as stay-at-home hits — the quiet catharsis we didn’t know we needed in the face of rapidly unfolding confusion, fear, and isolation. As the people of the world found themselves inside their small rooms, they began to search for smaller, more intentional sounds to fill them. These instrumentals carried the healing qualities we were after then, and still seek now. As we cite on the obi strip, the music is an antidote with seemingly ancient sonic characteristics, and a unique ability to embrace the core of our very being.
To Cy & Lee was also the first document of an ongoing collaboration between DePlume and International Anthem, which has already yielded the albums GOLD (2022), Come With Fierce Grace (2023), and A Blade Because a Blade Is Whole (2025), in addition to sundry singles and EPs. The depth of partnership between DePlume and our crew that has developed since To Cy & Lee, coupled with the endlessly quenching spiritual comforts the album continues to provide, makes it an absolute essential of the International Anthem catalog and a proud choice for the final three of the IA11 series.
released November 13, 2025
Composed by Alabaster DePlume.
Performed by Alabaster DePlume – vocal, tenor sax, guitar; Ríoghnach Connolly – voice, flute; Jess Connor – voice; Ellis Davies – electric guitar; John Ellis – pianette, clavinette, piano; Jessica Macdonald – cello; Hannah Miller – cello; Bi Roxby – voice; Paddy Steer – percussion, bass pedals; Leon Boydon – acoustic guitar; Daniel Inzani – piano; Beth Porter – cello; Lorenzo Prati – tenor sax; Dan Truen – drums; Will Calderbank – cello; Lorien Edwards – bass guitar; Philip Howley – drums, percussion; Mikey Kenney – violin; Pascal Makonese – m’bira; Kirsty McGee – bass flute; Tim Vincent Smith – violin; Rick Weedon – drums, percussion; Chestnutt – synth; Danalogue – piano, voice; James Howard – electric guitar; Sarathy Korwar – drums; Donna Thompson – voice.
Arranged by Alabaster DePlume, with Bi Roxby (track 3), Ellis Davies (track 11), and Danalogue (track 7).
Tracks 1, 3, 8 & 11 from "Copernicus" (2012) recorded at Limefield Studios and Madwaltz; produced & engineered by Paddy Steer and John Ellis; mixed by Paddy Steer.
Track 9 from "The Jester" (2013) recorded in Bristol; produced by Alabaster DePlume and Daniel Inzani with Mark Dressler; mixed & engineered by Mark Dressler.
Tracks 4, 5, 6 & 10 from "Peach" (2015) recorded at Limefield Studios, Madwaltz, Antwerp Mansion and Total Refreshment Centre; produced by Alabaster DePlume; engineered by Paddy Steer, John Ellis and Karl Sveinsson; mixed by Paddy Steer.
Tracks 2 & 7 (2019) recorded at Total Refreshment Centre; produced by Alabaster DePlume; mixed & engineered by Kristian Craig Robinson.
Tracks 12 & 13 (digital-only bonus tracks) produced, performed and recorded by Alabaster DePlume, circa 2013.
Album Mastered by David Allen (based on original tape masters of "Copernicus" by George Atkins at 80 Hertz).
Cover Art, Design & Layout by Raimund Wong.
Photography by Christina Almeida.
IA11 Design by Aaron Lowell Denton.
Composed by Alabaster DePlume.
Performed by Alabaster DePlume – vocal, tenor sax, guitar; Ríoghnach Connolly – voice, flute; Jess Connor – voice; Ellis Davies – electric guitar; John Ellis – pianette, clavinette, piano; Jessica Macdonald – cello; Hannah Miller – cello; Bi Roxby – voice; Paddy Steer – percussion, bass pedals; Leon Boydon – acoustic guitar; Daniel Inzani – piano; Beth Porter – cello; Lorenzo Prati – tenor sax; Dan Truen – drums; Will Calderbank – cello; Lorien Edwards – bass guitar; Philip Howley – drums, percussion; Mikey Kenney – violin; Pascal Makonese – m’bira; Kirsty McGee – bass flute; Tim Vincent Smith – violin; Rick Weedon – drums, percussion; Chestnutt – synth; Danalogue – piano, voice; James Howard – electric guitar; Sarathy Korwar – drums; Donna Thompson – voice.
Arranged by Alabaster DePlume, with Bi Roxby (track 3), Ellis Davies (track 11), and Danalogue (track 7).
Tracks 1, 3, 8 & 11 from "Copernicus" (2012) recorded at Limefield Studios and Madwaltz; produced & engineered by Paddy Steer and John Ellis; mixed by Paddy Steer.
Track 9 from "The Jester" (2013) recorded in Bristol; produced by Alabaster DePlume and Daniel Inzani with Mark Dressler; mixed & engineered by Mark Dressler.
Tracks 4, 5, 6 & 10 from "Peach" (2015) recorded at Limefield Studios, Madwaltz, Antwerp Mansion and Total Refreshment Centre; produced by Alabaster DePlume; engineered by Paddy Steer, John Ellis and Karl Sveinsson; mixed by Paddy Steer.
Tracks 2 & 7 (2019) recorded at Total Refreshment Centre; produced by Alabaster DePlume; mixed & engineered by Kristian Craig Robinson.
Tracks 12 & 13 (digital-only bonus tracks) produced, performed and recorded by Alabaster DePlume, circa 2013.
Album Mastered by David Allen (based on original tape masters of "Copernicus" by George Atkins at 80 Hertz).
Cover Art, Design & Layout by Raimund Wong.
Photography by Christina Almeida.
IA11 Design by Aaron Lowell Denton.
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