Iona Fortune - Tao of I Vol. 2

• Spellbinding second exploration of the I Ching hexagram by Iona Fortune
• Follow-up to first volume for Optimo Music - one of 2017’s albums of the year
• Mastered and cut by D&M. Pressed on yellow vinyl
• RIYL Coil, Laraaji, Jon Hassell, David Lynch & Angelo Badalamenti

Iona Fortune crystallises and convects enchanting thoughts on the legendary I Ching in a keenly awaited 2nd volume of ’Tao of I’, following from her resoundingly acclaimed 2017 debut for Optimo Music. Lustrous synthetic subbass meets traditional Chinese strings with sublimely spirited and timeless effect

Issued by Ecstatic as the 2nd of 8 albums by Iona exploring hexagrams of the I Ching, or ‘The Book of Changes’ - a 2500 year old Chinese divination text referenced extensively in religion, art, philosophy, psychoanalysis, science and mathematics - ‘Tao of I Vol. 2’ sees the Glasgow-raised, Zurich-based artist refer to millennia of human experience thru an electro-acoustic prism of Synthi AKS, Guzheng and Gamelan, newly expanded with Erhu, Kim, Yanqin, Zhong and Bawu. The wider scope of her palette allows a greater detail of airy calligraphic expression to her multi-dimensional microcosmos, channelling a wondrous energy in a fluidly melodic narration of mystic ideas made musically tangible.

In eight parts Iona acts as conduit for extraordinary, invisible and arcane forces. Inspired by the I Ching’s fundamental principles, her music resonates with a visceral and cosmic conception of human essence, infusing minimalist frameworks with finely tempered but lush emotive cues that bring to life the I Ching’s conviction that, according to the Wilhelm translation, 1950 of Hex 16 豫 (yù) “music has the power to ease tension within the heart and to loosen the grip of obscure emotions.” Iona’s music most beautifully manifests this idea in concisely exacting forms and to contemplative ends, creating a slow, serene and harmonious music that coolly commands relaxed states of reception, best for mulling over life, and stuff.

At once as light as a fleeting thought but permanent as an organism passing on its code, the music conjures mindsets comparable to Coil at their uncanniest, the post-erotica 4th world sensations generated by Jon Hassell, or the dark energy expressed in David Lynch films and their soundtracks. Most crucially Iona achieves this through a synthesis of self-exploration and instrumental actualisation, employing an unusual composition strategy of inner cultivation and empathic performance to divine and realise a spellbinding, penetrative otherness.

Iona Fortune - Xiǎo chù 小畜 [ELP045]

Rose Knapp (‡Starving Poet§) is an experimental poet & sound artist. She is a transfemme androgyne. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Artistically self taught, she creates chaotic, radiant, fragmented, fractal fusions of musique concrète, electronica, techno, sound poetry, & sound art.

She has LP's & EP's released with D.M.T. Records, Far East Sound, Always Human Tapes, Aa3 Corp & others.

After more than 25 years as a symphonic cellist I am exploring different ways, not consistent in style, trial and error. Do I have too many tracks?Probably😂. Working in Logic Pro. 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kKooifNOBEdGHpQQVqOkq?si=I262Z7qsTLWtSm9yuyxjBA
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCvUqZvFwzcx_-wWaikL7aNg
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLLwEW48bkOFkNUVXjZhY1qzDadIF4LHL
Apple music: https://apple.co/3PkLktw
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/35232052

"Mixing electronic sounds with acoustic instruments playing, Fahmi has combined his different skills to create electro-acoustic compositions that in some cases also wear resemblance to the style of what we used to call post-rock. Composition and playing with the sounds or of instruments are merged close together here, resulting in an atmosphere of ethereal and austere."
- Post Global Recordings

"I got hooked on Fahmi’s music before, and … honestly, far from playing favorites, I find I keep accidentally running over it through aliases and different links and enjoying it over and over again. (While I was just in Indonesia for Nusasonic, it wasn’t the trip that made me discover the music – it was the work of musicians like Fahmi that were the reason we all found ourselves on the other side of the world in the first place, to be more accurate. They discovered new sounds, and us.)"
- Peter Kirn / CDM

"Although the excellent Tandem Tapes label is based in Jakarta, they’re run by an ex-pat Aussie and have a decidedly international outlook. Nevertheless they do showcase plenty of great experimental Indonesian artists, and we finish tonight with Bandung-based “sound sculptor” Fahmi Mursyid, who uses granular synthesis to transform found sounds, guitar and traditional Indonesian instruments into surging drone and glitch works. I love the snatches of choral harmonies floating in and out of this particular track."
- Peter Hollo / FBi Radio

"With an ever-increasing array of powerful, portable and affordable electronic instruments available, the temptation for producers is to go maximal with their sound. But as these videos—courtesy of Indonesian musician Fahmi Mursyid—prove, a seriously affective and versatile sound can be crafted from the most limited of means."
- Telekom Electronic Beats 

"Jakarta Indonesia based Tandem Tapes is quickly becoming one of my favorite labels. It seems like half of their artists are pulled from the pool of experimental music that the Tome swims in and half are undiscovered gems from around the world the Indonesian based Fahmi Mursyid. I find myself lucky to have discovered something like Fahmi's soundclash of the sacred and profane. Gorgeous vocal drones beneath playful, exploratory electronics that ward off any tendency for the heavy hand."
- Tome to the Weather Machine

Featured :

CDM (Create Digital Music)
http://cdm.link/2018/11/tape-loop-drones-fahmi/

XLR8R
https://www.xlr8r.com/news/donato-dozzy-album-fahmi-mursyid-and-alessandro-di-puccio-next-on-grand-rivers-one-instrument

Telekom Electronic Beats 
http://www.electronicbeats.net/the-feed/listen-drift-away-relaxing-ambient-tape-loops-indonesia

Brutal Resonance
http://www.brutalresonance.com/news/experimental-musician-fahmi-mursyid-releases-new-album-via-tandem-tapes/

FBi 94.5 FM Live Radio
https://fbiradio.com/945fm/programs/utility-fog/2018-02-18-2100/

Media Indonesia
http://mediaindonesia.com/read/detail/71038-sumber-irama-yang-tidak-kasatmata

Dewan Kesenia Jakarta
https://dkj.or.id/program/pekan-komponis-indonesia-2016-musik-eksperimental-elektronik/

A Musical Promenade
http://musicalprom.com/2016/10/04/mencari-makna-di-balik-suara/

MUSLAB 2018:
https://depositosonoro.com/2018/08/31/sesion-de-escucha-muestra-internacional-de-musica-electroacustica-muslab/

The Quietus:
https://thequietus.com/articles/27203-nurse-with-wound-klein-black-truffle-rum-music-review

Resident Advisor 
https://www.residentadvisor.net/news/44065

TOME TO THE WEATHER MACHINE PODCAST 019
http://www.tometotheweathermachine.com/reviews/2018/02/tome-weather-machine-podcast-019

One Year In Guangzhou
https://oneyearinguangzhou.blog/2018/04/07/new-music-china-zoogazer-the-foreigners-nein-or-gas-mus-pool-of-light-seippelabel/

Chinabot
https://www.chinabot.co/mental-maps

FACT
https://www.factmag.com/2019/07/09/donato-dozzy-ems-synthi-aks-one-instrument/

The Wire
https://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/417

Iona Fortune - Xiǎo chù 小畜 [ELP045]

ECSTATIC