Releases

Taken from 'Fringe' LP/Download (E064, Ecstatic 03/09/2021)

A gorgeous swell of intimate soundscaping from Felisha Ledesma on this simmering stunner for Ecstatic, despatching two extended, richly absorbing pieces weft from everyday detritius; synths, strings, voicemail, found sounds - hitting a similar spot for us as Ulla’s diaristic 'inside means inside me’ but with a more defined play of sound-as-light that gently and memorably tugs at the earlobes and heartstrings. 

Exploring a music of presence and ultra subtle inference, ‘Fringe’ is the 2nd release by Ledesma, student of Berlin's estimable Universität der Künste, following from a debut for Enmossed x Psychic Liberation earlier this year. Using AMQR - a software synthesiser built by Ledesma together with Ess Mattisson - both pieces here shimmer with elusive timbres that occupy a realm that feels lost between worlds - neither electronic nor acoustic, but more a sort of observational sound that radiates togetherness and warmth. 

Operating at insightful levels of synaesthesia, Ledesma poetically turns ostensibly humdrum sources into clouds of smoke - emails, voicenotes, walking along the water, a poem attached to an email, walking alone in New York during lockdown, going for a swim at sunset in the desert - all turn into a smudge of memory. When ‘Beamsplitters’ opens with a tangible human presence - a voicemail from a friend - it startles with its earthly pull, eventually getting lost in a tangled spool of found sound leaving just a trace of iridescent, intimate reverie. 

On ‘Golden Mirror’ Felisha gently diffracts a lonesome guitar phrase into a humming thizz with a steeply uncanny ability to jog the memory in a similar way to how olfactory stimulus can conjure feelings of nostalgia. It’s a trick familiar from an emergent new realm of lower case composers creating something like submerged, small scale symphonies that work counter to notions of classical excess or anodyne ambient, instead focusing on microcosmic, highly peronalised sort of worldbuilding that’s impenetrable, yet somehow entirely open.

Felisha Ledesma - Golden Mirror [E064]

Safe Ground Recordings is proud to present Common Ground vol. 4, the fourth instalment in its compilation series, out on 3 October 2025. Featuring new works by Felisha Ledesma, Dania, Aleksandra Słyż, La Zza Ro & Natasha Pirard, Antonina Nowacka, Sofie Birch, Flora Yin-Wong, LB Marszalek, bela, and Ana Quiroga, the record once again reaffirms the label’s vision of sound as a space of solidarity and exploration.

As with previous editions, all profits will be donated to Sea-Watch to support their lifesaving missions in the Mediterranean.

Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio (NY, USA).

https://safeground.bandcamp.com/album/common-ground-vol-4



Common Ground Vol. 4 Felisha Ledesma - Touch Interlude

info: https://radio.syg.ma/episodes/erotika-25-felisha-ledesma
https://www.instagram.com/felishaledesma
https://soundcloud.com/felishaledesma

Felisha Ledesma

EROTIKA 25 – Felisha Ledesma

Originally composed for livestreaming events during the ongoing lockdown of 2020, Felisha Ledesma presents two extended pieces as a debut album, “Sweet Hour”. Ledesma’s first full length release arrives after much experience in creating collaborative works with artists such as Isabella and Angelo Harmsworth, site-specific installations, and high-profile festival performances.

Both pieces were realized using a new software synthesizer, called “AMQR”, which Ledesma built for personal use in collaboration with Ess Mattisson. Contrary to many digitally-based compositions, a distinctly warm and organic palette pervades these recordings. An almost playful leisurely pace is employed, engaging the listener to listen deeper; the pieces gracefully evolve with special attention to subtle shifts in stereo field and sonic coloration.

The time-of-day titles illustrate the two distinct moods conveyed: "7:00 AM" integrates field recordings and a hardware modular synthesizer, taking the listener through a psycho-acoustic journey exploring various nooks and crannies of subdued auditory rivulets: perhaps a hidden woodland brook, a sunny glen, a crunchy gravel walkway. "2:00 AM" harkens to the memories of nightclubs, opening with a synthesized arpeggio which could lead into a dancefloor-ready stomper. But instead, Ledesma steps back, allowing the arpeggio to develop into an encompassing ASMR-like timbral massage. The two compositions are united in a slightly melancholic grasping for connection; are they unfolding or are they unraveling? Ledesma does not answer the question outright, but instead finds joy in superposition and sublimation - while creating a space for the listener to inhabit, to live in, and to re-connect.

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Felisha Ledesma is a multi-disciplinary artist currently based in Berlin, GER. In Portland, OR, Ledesma co-founded and directed numerous organizations focused on experimental sound and community engagement such as S1 (an artist-run space) and the Synth Library (a lending library for electronic music equipment). Most recently Felisha co-founded Fors (fors.fm), creating "novel instruments that are elegant to use and adventurous in sound" in collaboration with Ess Mattisson and is studying sonic arts at Universität der Künste, Berlin. 

releases January 29, 2021

mastering :: Ess Mattisson

cover artwork :: Felisha Ledesma

design ++ layout :: Robin JM Vanderheyden

all proceeds to Equitable Giving Circle :: www.equitablegivingcircle.org

Sweet Hour

Felisha Ledesma - 7:00 AM [Excerpt] (ENXPL04)

Originally composed for livestreaming events during the ongoing lockdown of 2020, Felisha Ledesma presents two extended pieces as a debut album, “Sweet Hour”. Ledesma’s first full length release arrives after much experience in creating collaborative works with artists such as Isabella and Angelo Harmsworth, site-specific installations, and high-profile festival performances.

Both pieces were realized using a new software synthesizer, called “AMQR”, which Ledesma built for personal use in collaboration with Ess Mattisson. Contrary to many digitally-based compositions, a distinctly warm and organic palette pervades these recordings. An almost playful leisurely pace is employed, engaging the listener to listen deeper; the pieces gracefully evolve with special attention to subtle shifts in stereo field and sonic coloration.

The time-of-day titles illustrate the two distinct moods conveyed: "7:00 AM" integrates field recordings and a hardware modular synthesizer, taking the listener through a psycho-acoustic journey exploring various nooks and crannies of subdued auditory rivulets: perhaps a hidden woodland brook, a sunny glen, a crunchy gravel walkway. "2:00 AM" harkens to the memories of nightclubs, opening with a synthesized arpeggio which could lead into a dancefloor-ready stomper. But instead, Ledesma steps back, allowing the arpeggio to develop into an encompassing ASMR-like timbral massage. The two compositions are united in a slightly melancholic grasping for connection; are they unfolding or are they unraveling? Ledesma does not answer the question outright, but instead finds joy in superposition and sublimation - while creating a space for the listener to inhabit, to live in, and to re-connect. 
credits
releases January 29, 2021