Official press release:
Cadabra Records, a newly founded label created to exhume the works of influential horror genre icons in a spoken word style, is preparing to issue a fascinating LP in ode to the works of Lee Brown Coye, delivering the man’s fascinating illustrative literature in a wholly fresh manner.
Founded by iconic Syracuse-based musician Jonathan Dennison, Cadabra Recordss sets out to issue the works of incredibly notable writers which have helped create and continually influence the odd, macabre, and ongoing legacy of the modern horror genre, both in cinema and in printed deliverance. The label hereby begins its lineage with Where Is Abby? & Other Tales, by Lee Brown Coye, a spoken word album which transports eight short storylines from the significant writer’s catalog in a captivating style, with a high-quality product to present these tales in a way to transcend genre, time and classification into timeless pieces honoring said works, which have influenced such acclaimed modern works as The Blair Witch Project, and the show True Detective.
As Where Is Abby? & Other Tales nears its release in the very near future, major horror/cinema outlet Bloody Disgusting has released a passage from the impeding album which unearths Lee Brown Coye’s descriptive storytelling, with an exclusive listen to “The Church”, which is the closing narrative on this audible excursion. Describing in great detail a historic, burnt-down church in Syracuse in a way that transcends its previous life and simultaneously brings the artists’ own life to a grand ending in excellent fashion, “The Church” is an appropriately apt example of what Where Is Abby? & Other Tales beholds for exploratory fans of all kinds. In the words of label founder Jonathan Dennison:
“‘The Church’ makes Lee Brown Coye’s fascination with dreams and death evident. Coye was not a man of religion, but had an appreciation for its art and history. The church in this story is actually based on an existing church here in Syracuse, New York. Where Is Abby? & Other Tales takes you into the mind of one of the greatest illustrators of macabre and fantastic fiction. This is uniquely original material that takes you into a dark place, in old central New York. This should not be missed.”
For the first time collected anywhere, are the finest of Lee Brown Coye’s “Chips and Shavings” stories, rarely known until now. Written between 1964 and 1970, these stories originally appeared in the Mid-York Weekly newspaper, most of which have not been reprinted since. Brought to life through the readings of son, Robert Coye, you will hear haunting stories the fantastic and the absurd, of folklore and of legend, nightmares and death. The uniqueness and strength of Lee’s art is shown here by the spoken word. Find out why names like Mike Mignola, Guillermo Del Toro, and Stephen King found Lee Brown Coye inspiring.
Investigate “The Church” through the posthumous auditory works of Lee Brown Coye via the Bloody Disgusting below:
Cadabra Records will issue Where Is Abby? & Other Tales on LP and CD on July 30th; the LP in a limited first pressing of 500 copies on 180-gram vinyl packed in a 350 gsm deluxe gatefold jacket with reverse board printing and a 4-panel insert with liner notes, and the CD in a hand-screen printed 4-panel eco-pack. The first 125 vinyl orders will receive a free art print signed by the artist’s son, and reader, Robert Coye. A very limited subscription to the Lee Brown Coye Collection will also be available, which includes exclusive color vinyl, a T-shirt, a hand screened poster and more.
Lee Brown Coye (1907-1981) is best known as one of the most original and influential artists to capture the feel of nightmare and unease in the field of illustrative literature; a godfather of the macabre. From the original Weird Tales pulp magazine to the finest of Arkham House Publishing his art as proven to live on. Coye has three art books in print, and his works are represented in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Everson Museum in Syracuse, the Onondaga County Historical Society, Colgate University, the Morrisville State College Library, SUNY Oswego, Syracuse University, and private collections.
