{"title":"Agriculture","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"agriculture-agriculture-lp","title":"Agriculture - \"Agriculture\" LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor something to be “ecstatic,” the feelings and emotions it evokes must transcend what we tend to experience most regularly in our lives. Ecstatic joy isn’t just happiness; it’s a feeling of jubilation which impacts us emotionally and in a metaphysical, arguably spiritual sense too. Although it has long been associated with connotations of the dark and macabre, extreme music has the ability to be a powerful mode of expression for these feelings of absolute bliss, overwhelming love, and awe-inspiring sublimity. Extreme emotions no less and those which black metal quartet Agriculture evokes with its ecstatic subversion of the subgenre’s tropes. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat was initially a meeting and subsequent series of jam sessions between Kern Haug and Daniel Meyer, two musicians in the Los Angeles underground noise scene, would eventually manifest as a shared vision to portray the sublimity of the human experience through the vehicle of heavy music. Following the additions of veteran guitarist Richard Chowenhill and bassist\/vocalist Leah Levinson to the band’s lineup, this idea would crystalize into the “ecstatic black metal” backbone of Agriculture’s music, first heard on the band’s 2022 debut EP, The Circle Chant. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith Agriculture’s self-titled record and first full-length LP, it’s abundantly clear that the band’s use of heavy music to showcase the most resplendent emotions and moments of the human experience has a far deeper meaning. Woven between the flurries of soaring tremolo picking, crescendoing guitar harmonies, celebratory screamed vocals, thoughtful improvisation, and meditative atmospheric passages is the record’s mission statement to experience the wonders and joys of both the esoteric and physical world. From examinations of self-acceptance, identity, and finding strength in others on “Look Pt.2” to depictions of deep communion with nature, the self, and the people we surround ourselves with in “The Glory of the Ocean” and “The Well”, the concepts and thematic questions previously planted by the band have blossomed into powerful, fully-realized artistic and philosophical statements. To put it in the band’s words, “...Where The Circle Chant is like a finger pointing at the moon, the self-titled LP is like a whole body screaming at it with reverence.” Through the extreme splendor of ecstatic black metal and the improvisational, experimental, and cathartic elements it embodies, Agriculture illustrates these otherwise incomprehensible questions with a poignant beauty that makes its music as much of an artistic statement as it is a transcendental experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrack Listing:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1. The Glory of the Ocean\u003cbr\u003e2. The Well\u003cbr\u003e3. Look, Pt. 1\u003cbr\u003e4. Look, Pt. 2\u003cbr\u003e5. Look, Pt. 3\u003cbr\u003e6. Relier\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imprint Merch","offers":[{"title":"Burgundy","offer_id":45708061573308,"sku":"THEFLENSER_0006","price":50.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/8378\/8880\/files\/Agriculture_Burgundy.png?v=1768446820"},{"product_id":"agriculture-living-is-easy-the-circle-chant-lp","title":"Agriculture - \"Living Is Easy\/The Circle Chant\" LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Flenser is pleased to announce the release of \"Living is Easy,\" the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. This new EP will be paired with the band's debut EP, \"The Circle Chant.\" For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e”Living is Easy,\" an EP by Agriculture, represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarks on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for Agriculture, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of 'ecstatic black metal' music. The band believes that with \"Living is Easy,\" they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha's past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with Agriculture, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In The House Of Angel Flesh,\" another pivotal track, focuses on collective struggle and connection. The song's title is inspired by \"The Faggots \u0026amp; Their Friends Between Revolutions,\" a 1977 book by Larry Mitchell. Like the book, the song depicts scenes of community support and pleasure amidst political, social, and socio-economic challenges. Agriculture interprets Larry Mitchell's description of the house of Angel Flesh as a metaphorical place of healing and transformation, using it as an allegory in their music to convey messages of support, care, and communal joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTouring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share \"Living is Easy\" as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of “The Circle Chant.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrack Listing:\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e1. Living Is Easy\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e2. Being Eaten By A Tiger\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e3. In The House Of Angel Flesh\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e4. When You Were Born\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e5. The Circle Chant\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e6. Salt\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e7. How To Keep Cool\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e8. The Circle Chant, Pt.2\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Imprint Merch","offers":[{"title":"Black","offer_id":44624811589820,"sku":"THEFLENSER_0007","price":50.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/8378\/8880\/files\/Agriculture-LivingIsEasyLP-Black.png?v=1742942374"},{"product_id":"agriculture-logo-t-shirt","title":"\"Agriculture Logo\" T-Shirt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePrinted on Gildan Hammer (H000) T-Shirt\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e203g\/㎡\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e100% Combed Ring Spun US Cotton\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHeavyweight soft ring spun fabric\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eModern classic fit tubular body\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e2.22cm rib collar\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDouble-needle sleeve and bottom hems\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGrey pearlized tear away label\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaped neck and shoulders\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eModel is 185cm and wearing size Large\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Flenser","offers":[{"title":"S","offer_id":44738452750524,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0001","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"M","offer_id":44738452783292,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0002","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"L","offer_id":44738452816060,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0003","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"XL","offer_id":44738452848828,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0004","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"2XL","offer_id":44738452881596,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0005","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"3XL","offer_id":44738452914364,"sku":"AGRICULTURE_0006","price":45.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0252\/8378\/8880\/files\/agriculture-logo-shirt-416506260.png?v=1747007932"},{"product_id":"agriculture-the-spiritual-sound-lp","title":"Agriculture - \"The Spiritual Sound\" LP","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere’s a kind of quiet violence in how music is consumed today—flattened into background noise, sonic perfume fed into algorithms, sold as lifestyle. It’s entertainment as anesthesia. Sound without the weight. The Spiritual Sound, the new full-length from Los Angeles–based band Agriculture, stands as a pointed refusal of this condition. This is not a playlist. This is not a vibe. It is a demand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcross its runtime, The Spiritual Sound traces a narrative arc through extremes: searing, sky-cracking catharsis on side A; a slow-burning, devotional undercurrent on side B. The album is largely a fusing of the visions of its two principal songwriters, Dan Meyer and Leah Levinson: distinct voices, deeply complementary.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDan writes like someone clawing toward the divine through noise, channeling Zen Buddhism, historical collapse, ecstatic grief. Leah’s songs move differently: grounded in queer history and AIDS-era literature, amid the suffocating fog of the present, they carry the weight of survival as daily ritual. Her writing asks how to honor queer community and collective struggle without turning it into identity branding or personal mythmaking: how to stay honest, how to stay present. Though distinct, their voices converge in a singular spiritual grammar—one that defines the totality of The Spiritual Sound, not as separate parts, but as one unified expression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s formation mirrors this duality. What began as a loose collaboration between Kern Haug and Dan Meyer in the Los Angeles noise scene evolved into a shared pursuit of the sublime through heavy music. With the additions of Richard Chowenhill and Leah Levinson, the project solidified into the band’s current form. The ecstatic black metal foundation was laid on 2022’s The Circle Chant, expanded into something more precise and far-reaching on their 2023 self-titled full-length, and deepened further with 2024’s Living Is Easy: a record that embraced devotional intensity and radiant heaviness in equal measure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s writing process is built on dismantling and revision of self. Dan and Leah bring songs to the band and then allow them to be pulled apart and rebuilt communally: reshaped through conflict, repetition, and deep trust. Richard adds guitar melodies and solos, and Kern constructs rhythms which are sometimes familiar but often unconventional. Finally, with Richard producing, the final form of each song is realized through intense collaborative work in the studio. Although a time consuming and ego-frustrating process, this allows the band to find the spirit of the songs not through inspiration, but through persistence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, even in its most ambitious moments, The Spiritual Sound remains rooted in the ordinary and in the day-to-day relationships between the people who made it. Gas station snacks. Inside jokes. Sleeping on floors. Playing shows in rooms that smell like mildew. The spirit here isn’t abstract, it's live. This is spiritual music that starts with imperfect gear and a long-in-the-tooth tour van.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture doesn’t offer salvation. The Spiritual Sound isn’t a map out of the fire. What it offers instead is presence: a confrontation with the moment, however unbearable, however divine. It insists that meaning is still possible, even in a world hell-bent on reducing everything to content, and where suffering itself can be conducive to recovery. As the Buddhist saying goes “the only way out is in.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen the founder of Chinese Zen, Bodhidharma, was asked by the emperor of China “What is the true meaning of the holy truth?” He replied, “Vast emptiness. Nothing holy.” This is not background music. This is not for vibe. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrack Listing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. My Garden\u003cbr\u003e2. Flea\u003cbr\u003e3. Micah (5:15am)\u003cbr\u003e4. The Weight\u003cbr\u003e5. Serenity\u003cbr\u003e6. The Spiritual Sound\u003cbr\u003e7. Dan's Love Song\u003cbr\u003e8. Bodhidharma\u003cbr\u003e9. Hallelujah\u003cbr\u003e10. 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Though distinct, their voices converge in a singular spiritual grammar—one that defines the totality of The Spiritual Sound, not as separate parts, but as one unified expression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s formation mirrors this duality. What began as a loose collaboration between Kern Haug and Dan Meyer in the Los Angeles noise scene evolved into a shared pursuit of the sublime through heavy music. With the additions of Richard Chowenhill and Leah Levinson, the project solidified into the band’s current form. The ecstatic black metal foundation was laid on 2022’s The Circle Chant, expanded into something more precise and far-reaching on their 2023 self-titled full-length, and deepened further with 2024’s Living Is Easy: a record that embraced devotional intensity and radiant heaviness in equal measure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s writing process is built on dismantling and revision of self. Dan and Leah bring songs to the band and then allow them to be pulled apart and rebuilt communally: reshaped through conflict, repetition, and deep trust. Richard adds guitar melodies and solos, and Kern constructs rhythms which are sometimes familiar but often unconventional. Finally, with Richard producing, the final form of each song is realized through intense collaborative work in the studio. Although a time consuming and ego-frustrating process, this allows the band to find the spirit of the songs not through inspiration, but through persistence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, even in its most ambitious moments, The Spiritual Sound remains rooted in the ordinary and in the day-to-day relationships between the people who made it. Gas station snacks. Inside jokes. Sleeping on floors. Playing shows in rooms that smell like mildew. The spirit here isn’t abstract, it's live. This is spiritual music that starts with imperfect gear and a long-in-the-tooth tour van.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture doesn’t offer salvation. The Spiritual Sound isn’t a map out of the fire. What it offers instead is presence: a confrontation with the moment, however unbearable, however divine. It insists that meaning is still possible, even in a world hell-bent on reducing everything to content, and where suffering itself can be conducive to recovery. As the Buddhist saying goes “the only way out is in.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen the founder of Chinese Zen, Bodhidharma, was asked by the emperor of China “What is the true meaning of the holy truth?” He replied, “Vast emptiness. Nothing holy.” This is not background music. This is not for vibe. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTrack Listing:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1. My Garden\u003cbr\u003e2. Flea\u003cbr\u003e3. Micah (5:15am)\u003cbr\u003e4. The Weight\u003cbr\u003e5. Serenity\u003cbr\u003e6. 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Though distinct, their voices converge in a singular spiritual grammar—one that defines the totality of The Spiritual Sound, not as separate parts, but as one unified expression.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s formation mirrors this duality. What began as a loose collaboration between Kern Haug and Dan Meyer in the Los Angeles noise scene evolved into a shared pursuit of the sublime through heavy music. With the additions of Richard Chowenhill and Leah Levinson, the project solidified into the band’s current form. The ecstatic black metal foundation was laid on 2022’s The Circle Chant, expanded into something more precise and far-reaching on their 2023 self-titled full-length, and deepened further with 2024’s Living Is Easy: a record that embraced devotional intensity and radiant heaviness in equal measure.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAgriculture’s writing process is built on dismantling and revision of self. Dan and Leah bring songs to the band and then allow them to be pulled apart and rebuilt communally: reshaped through conflict, repetition, and deep trust. Richard adds guitar melodies and solos, and Kern constructs rhythms which are sometimes familiar but often unconventional. Finally, with Richard producing, the final form of each song is realized through intense collaborative work in the studio. Although a time consuming and ego-frustrating process, this allows the band to find the spirit of the songs not through inspiration, but through persistence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYet, even in its most ambitious moments, The Spiritual Sound remains rooted in the ordinary and in the day-to-day relationships between the people who made it. Gas station snacks. Inside jokes. Sleeping on floors. Playing shows in rooms that smell like mildew. The spirit here isn’t abstract, it's live. 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