Intention. The thing I d always felt deep down about Asva recordings was that sense of ... intention. Good as they have been they rang hollow, as if the truth of what nature born those tracks was hidden behind a veneer of having to be a definable thing, genre specific, a way to belong somewhere in the midst of other musics. The intention behind Presences of Absences has been to make something real and unbiased, an honest effort at reproducing Asva s nature as a band, and as individuals. Not heavy in the traditional sense, but emotive and powerful not quirky, not elusive or exclusive, but a different breed entirely. Presences of Absences is about sincerity, goodwill, and compassion; honesty, hard work and, in the deepest sense, thanks and reflection at the end of the day. It s a discussion in music utilizing traditional elements (liturgical, plain chant, tintinnabuli musics, folk and gospel musics, acoustic organ and wind instruments) and contemporary electric instrumentation and playing methods to expose our shared origins, our pasts, presents and futures and the common thread passing through our relationships to all of it. Presences of Absences is a big work. It began as a singularly personal project. I had envisioned creating a solo work and had recorded the basis for these tracks (reed and electric organs, electric bass and guitar, bells) over the course of perhaps 150 early morning sessions in my rehearsal room. As the concept grew I realized that involving other creative minds to form a true collaborative we could, together, could push P of A into a whole new arena with considerable added dimension. Greg Gilmore, Toby Driver, and Jake Weller are musicians and composers of whom I have long admired and feel possess an intuitive sensitivity towards music and who like myself are not afraid of exposing themselves as truly individual voices unencumbered by any need to be anything namable. Presences of Absences speaks the naked truth about its creators and, ultimately, about us as people. G. Stuart Dahlquist, February 2011 Asva has long been established as a heavy band but Presences of Absences refines, redefines, and renders the term heavy an unnecessary cliché.