Tearpalm

Tearpalm is a main musical vehicle of Marko Dabetić (often abbreviated as MMM), Belgrade-based writer, art historian and electronic musician. Influenced by kraut/space rock sound of late sixties and early seventies, early British industrial and New York guitar noise of the eighties, it was formed in Niš, in 2007, as a one-man studio project. While in this phase, Tearpalm released two full-length albums with pioneer Croatian indie label Slušaj najglasnije, and one transitional, download-only, release for Crime:Scene Records (formerly Dark:Scene Records) based in Novi Sad. Tearpalms 2008. debut, "Prijatelj sa Duhovima Mesta", had a good run on KZSU's (official radio of Stanford University, http://kzsu.stanford.edu/) top ten list for classical, electronic & experimental albums, alongside current releases by Emeralds, Olafur Arnalds and Ivan Čkonjević. Album featured a bonus disc, containing Tearpalm's material remixed by fellow Serbian electronic artists and bands: Margita je mrtva, Lezet, Figurative Theatre, DeepArtMent and THIRD I. During 2009, apart from releasing a second full album, Tearpalm also contributed tracks to several compilations, most notably to “That’s Romance”, a tribute to legendary industrial musician John Zewizz, curated by Brad Miller, a man who established John Zewizz Appreciation Society site, and approved by Zewizz himself. Money raised from selling the compilation in U. S. went to polar bears benefit action. That same year, Tearpalm took part in “Clyde Parker Sessions”, a multi-national project by French electronic artist Monolith & Cobalt. Moving to Belgrade in 2009. saw Tearpalm's live incarnation, primarily as a trio consisting of MMM on computers, guitar, keyboards and occasional vocals, Miloš Dabetić on bass, and Dimitrije Cvetković (also known as ambient/breakbeat act Plavo Tkivo) on keyboards and various effect boxes. Since then, Tearpalm plays on almost regular basis in Belgrade's clubs and venues open to alternative sound, including Žica, 20/44, SKC LivingRoom, Underworld, UK Parobrod, Fili, Fest, etc. – alongside a variety of bands and electronic artist ranging from stoner and rock (Jewy Sabatay/Brigand, Sensitive Noise) to industrial (Figurative Theatre, THIRD I) and abstract electronics (Dunduew, [C. T. D.], Disphilharmonia from Skopje and Asino Elettronico’s Nemanja Lazić). 2011. saw first gigs outside Belgrade area - CK13 in Novi Sad and Dom Omladine Pančevo (latter under the wing of Novo Doba festival), sharing a stage with Vladimir Lenhart (Lenhart Tapes) and short-lived Kosmodrom. Concert activities of 2012. included live collaborations with Damjan Brkić (guitarist and founder member of major Serbian alternative band Klopka za pionira, and a versatile musician on his own), Lebdi & Koneyn and foreign guests Hippy Death Suite (BE) and E. U. E. R. P. I. (BG) Also, Tearpalm's live edition, albeit open to ad hoc personal changes and spontaneous guest appearances, boiled down to a steady duo: MMM and Dimitrije. Recent live shows incorporate video by Belgrade-based artist Marina Rajić. Second half of 2012. brings five new releases by Tearpalm: drone ambient piece “Ghost Cumulus in Belgrade Night Sky” (contains a remix track by reclusive Serbian avant-garde musician Gianni / Druid) and 5th anniversary compilation “5”, both released through Serbian independent label Ne-Ton; private release “2”, consisting of two unreleased early tracks, offered as a free download via band’s Bandcamp page, to honor the Mother’s Day; “Tearpalm vs. Crocodile Tears”, live album recorded at Club Fest, Zemun, released with recently founded south-Serbian label Black Planet Records; and, most recently, “Osvit”, a collaboration with Željko Ljubić Pt, lead guitarist and founder member of influential and widely known Serbian alternative rock band Goribor, released on CD with Slušaj najglasnije!. Also, Tearpalm contributed tracks and remixes to several releases: compilations Industrial Sabotage (release by CyberfArts, track “Wake Up ‘n’ Smell the Coffin”) Underground Alliance Trilogy Vol. 1: Heaven (track “Crna ogledala”), and Asino Elettronico’s 5th anniversary compilation which still unnamed and under production (track “That Loathsome Tenant / Out to Get Some”); remixes for reissues of two albums by Serbian electronic projects Syphil and Plain Sessions. MMM of Tearpalm contributed string synths to Karmakumulator’s cover of Satan Panonski song “Bajka”. Tearpalms new “proper” album is currently being mixed, and can be expected as soon as 2013.