In Chemical Transit is All Men Unto Me’s first release, a 45 minute album which explores Rylan Gleave’s vocal journey from mezzo-soprano to bass-baritone, underpinned by Cherubino’s aria Voi che sapete from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Through historic recordings of Rylan Gleave’s voice — pre-transition, 8 weeks on Testosterone, and 2.5 years on Testosterone — In Chemical Transit is a time capsule of voices that will never sound again.

 

Gleave’s exploration of the operatic material is influenced not only by his classical training, but also his avant-garde metal vocals for Ashenspire, in addition to themes drawn from minimalism, Anglican church music, post-punk, and drone. His broken voice alternates between strangled falsetto, guttural shrieks, and full-bodied classical baritone, likened to ‘Tilt-era Scott Walker’ by C.M. Queen.

 

All Men Unto Me’s recording line-up for In Chemical Transit is; voice (Rylan Gleave), ‘cello (Simone Seales), piano (Edward Cohen), orchestral bass drum (Ewan Millar), and electronics (Ollie Hawker). It was recorded live at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland by Ollie Hawker and Bob Whitney (Abbey Road Studios, Sony Music Studios), mixed by engineer Scott McLean, and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios.