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]

"Suck Out the Reason" by Prostitutes from upcoming "Petit Cochon" LP.

"Suck Out the Reason" by Prostitutes

Taken from the album 'Quixotism' released as CD and Download.

Oren Ambarchi 'Quixotism Part 5' (eMEGO 202)

2nd track on 'Intact' (Jj funhouse, 2016)
http://www.jjfunhouse.com/catalogue/jj010

Data

A track from the album 'UV Sea' out 02/13/16 on Constellation Tatsu.

Forest Walker - Desert Lighthouse

Alessandro Cortini, live instrumental set at Death By Audio, NYC, December 11 2011. Performed on a Buchla Music Easel.

Alessandro Cortini - live at Death By Audio, december 2011

Experimental cinema sonics, electroacoustic research practice and shadowy wind instruments come together to form this unique interpretation of the mythical city of gold. Utilising rare, half forgotten Soviet era synthesisers Vladimir Karpov creates immersive soundscapes under the name XYR. The Formanta mini keytar and the Alisa 1377 lend Karpov’s music strange, seldom heard atmospheres which the St. Petersburg native then combines with field recordings, toy percussion and wood flute to further build upon his utopian narratives.

Part concept album, part nod to Popol Vuh, his attempt to channel the thematics of the ancient tale of the Muisca people through his modest home studio left a lasting impression on us here at 12th Isle and we’re proud to present a selection of the tracks on vinyl for the very first time. Originally confined to just 25 cassette tapes, for this edition we have assembled some of the most inspiring tracks from the sessions as well as the bonus closing piece ‘Aguirre Song’. Immediately engaging, sincerely heartfelt and strikingly original, these are recordings we have returned to time and time again.

Limited edition LP comes housed in screenprinted sleeve. ‘El Dorado’ recorded April – August 2014, originally released via Illuminated Paths (March 2015).

https://12thisle.bandcamp.com/album/x-y-r-el-dorado

ISLE003

XYR - El Dorado LP (ISLE003)

This is track ONE on THE BLACK BOOK which is a 3 LP comp of stuff we love, and compiled to celebrate 20 years of iDEAL, ok? Its here rather soon. But we needed to share this with you tonight. Cover design by Philip Marshall.

JASSS - PARENTAL YOUTH (from "THE BLACK BOOK" IDEAL175 3xLP compilation)

From the 2011 album "Sentimental Favourites" – originally released on Dekorder. Available digitally on Bandcamp at the nice price of pay what you want.
https://andrewpekler.bandcamp.com/album/sentimental-favourites

Sentimental Favourites

Name your price

The Twilight Of Your Smile

Taken from the upcoming album Both Lines Will Be Blue, out July 12th on Smalltown Supersound. Produced by Carmen Villain. Flute performed by Johanna Scheie Orellana. Mastered by Matt Colton.

Observable Future

Artist: Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek
Album: Bird, Lake, Objects
Label#: faitiche03
Format: LP/DL

Vinyl repress of faitiche03 & 13 available on July 17th 2020!

Queried on his favourite word in the German language, Masayoshi Fujita will pick ‘getragen’ – without a sliver of hesitation. Further questioning will reveal that he loves the term’s semantic signifiers, its inherent sense of “expansive, deep, quiet and sombre.” And yet, ‘getragen’ leaves plenty of room for interpretation: depending on context, it might also indicate wearing apparel or the state of being carried – two more mundane interpretations that I would rather keep from him.
Does Masayoshi’s own definition, however, apply to Bird, Lake, Objects? Only to a limited extent. Compared to previous Faitiche releases, Bird, Lake, Objects is certainly the most ‘getragen’ of them all. Nevertheless, this is by far not the first association that comes to mind. From a distance, these tracks seem rather introspective, cautious even – and reflect the recording situation: deliberately pared down, reduced to a single microphone in space and a separate track for all other instruments, each movement and action is chronicled by the treacherous mike. This confronted me with some unexpected and unfamiliar problems. For example, we had to swap out the seating in the studio as my favoured chair had a characteristic creak. Other, external influences proved to be beyond our control: fire engine klaxons, street noise and footfall became part of the recordings and their improvisatory nature. Each movement required careful orchestration, fully aware of its irrevocable nature. Space itself was always present and an audible entity, except on "Stripped to RM" (recorded without a microphone or vibraphone track). After extensive deliberations, we decided to forgo the vibes on this piece – a very similar version had already been released in 2008 (on the compilation Enjoy The Silence, Mule Electronic, 2008).

Masayoshi Fujita & Jan Jelinek:  I'll Change Your Life

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