To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1

To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 is a simple but profoundly beautiful collection of Mancunian poet, singer, saxophonist and composer Alabaster DePlume’s serenely intimate wordless explorations in melodic ennui. It properly introduced the world to a previously under-exposed, undeniably deep dimension of DePlume who, at the time of the album’s release, was most known to his (primarily British, majorly committed) followers for his prowess as an impassioned orator with a gift for words.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 with Lost Map and Total Refreshment Centre on a three-label record campaign… 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 a stay-at-home hit — the quiet catharsis we didn’t know we needed in the face of rapidly unfolding confusion, fear and isolation.To Cy & Lee was also the beginning of an ongoing friendship and 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 IA11 Edition of To Cy and Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 comes on classic black 140-gram vinyl LP inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with a 12-page 11x11" insert booklet (with previously-unpublished photos and new liner notes by DePlume himself), IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner-sleeve. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with new lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.