Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

New album of superoxygenated synth fantasias out today, seems like a good time for her own thread.

New one is great btw - it's a little less busy than Euclid, has more of the calmness of Tides. More vocals though plus real wind instruments alongside the burbling buchlas.

This is relevant to my interests!

Need to recall my 'great' about the new one and issue an 'absolutely fucking amazing' in its place

I'm only 2 songs in, and I'm already lost and disoriented and amazed in all the best ways.

Last album, I was all "holy shit, these synths!!!" and barely noticed the vocals, but on this one, the tone-cluster harmonisations are unmissable and completely magical.

This is not something I'm going to be able to listen to on the tube, I can tell. I'm going to have to download this and go and sit quietly in a forest with it for a while.

Just wait till the woodwinds turn up fwiw

The Philip Glass-esque "pa-pa-pa-pa-pa" vocals meets slithering insect noises of Arthropoda just exploded my brain.

thrilled that it's turned out so well. i liked euclid a lot, but there were some moments on it that veered a bit too close to animal collective-y sugar barf and reading that she was touring with them i feared she might go further in that direction. this one is straight-up gold though, and it arrived on the most perfect spring morning too.

This is astonishing and beautiful, it's probably my favourite record of the year so far. I agree it's perfect for spring mornings. I preferred the gentler second half of Euclid and this is a step up even from that - burbling synths and woodwind instruments are one of my favourite sonic combinations so the fact that they're all over this is pretty much catnip for me.

I'm loving the inclusion of more vocals as well, they really work here in a way they didn't on Euclid.

I'd love to get this today, but I don't understand why the CD isn't available on Smith's Bandcamp page? With small-label electronic releases today, normally you can order the CD/vinyl from Bandcamp, after which you can also download the albums as FLACs/WAVs, so you don't have to wait until the record arrives in mail. But this album can only be bought as digital download on Bandcamp, and since I'm one of those old-fashioned foIks who wants to have the CD too, I don't want to pay for it twice.

It was the same deal with Euclid too. Seems pretty stupid that her label doesn't follow what has become the norm with releases like these, it'll just encourage people to acquire the files via illegal means.

good for you for trying to support the label, but amazon do a free autorip if you're desparate

or even desperate

Yeah, but only as MP3s. And Amazon's own prices are almost way higher than with other sellers.

(xpost)

this album is gorgeous

^^^^

ended up listening to it 6 times today, and it's not even knocking-off time

seen her twice and it's a remarkable live show; when someone's music has this many pre-composed threads, and your axe is a modular, it can be tough to walk the line between safely-programmed and live. and there are certainly prepared elements cooked in there but there's still a sense of independent threads & haywire randomness, and someone who knows how to listen & who knows her rig so well that all these random elements get utilized. the second live set in SF last september in particular just perfectly balanced live chaos and structure, blew me away much more than any of the records I'd heard so definitely looking forward to making time for this new one

http://www.factmag.com/2016/03/30/kaitlyn-aurelia-smith-modular-synth-studio-video/

Awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks at Levitation. New album is great.

wow this is big step forward from her already excellent earlier stuff

Her best yet

in an act of unfettered capitalism run amok, I bought copies of Euclid and EARS from my local vinyl album purveyor this evening

I bought Euclid from Origami when I was in L.A. a year ago. I am back now and will be buying Ears from ... somewhere.

^^ not that this is all that exciting or worth posting, mostly i am just glad to be back down here where it is warm for a week

This is fabulous. Like a midpoint between Glasser and Invisible Conga People, plus woodwinds.

Definitely hearing glasser in the vocals and the way they're treated

Found out from a recent story that she comes from Orcas Island, one of the most beautiful but also fairly isolated places in the US. Whether or not that truly reflects in her art I don't know but I think it would encourage a certain independence.

I guess I could easily google it, but where is that ned?

Washington state apparently. That helps explain part of her aesthetic for me. She certainly doesn't sound like anything else out of LA right now. There's this organic pastoral quality to her sound that's very unique and it's wonderful hope her folk and classical background influences her electronic composition. Her new album is a bloody masterpiece BTW. One of the best things released so far this year. She's definitely leveled up.

Lovely stuff: Glasser/non-scary Fever Ray in the vocals, which presses my buttons

new interview @ popmatters

Driving a Spaceship Through Futuristic Jungles with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
http://www.popmatters.com/feature/driving-a-spaceship-through-futuristic-jungles-with-kaitlyn-aurelia-smith/

The album was heavily influenced by animated art, particularly the movie Nausicaa by Hayao Miyazaki, but also the work of Jean Giraud Moebius and Killian Eng. All three artists, Smith says, “have these neo-futuristic vibes that still feel connected to nature and have a spiritual quality to them.” She adds, “That’s always been very evocative for me and has always been my visual language for when I’m creating sounds. It’s always been in that world. I’m starting to try and connect my visual world with my auditory world and try and make sound environments that can help other people feel those visual worlds.”

otm

really liked euclid but this is wonderful

nothing new to add, this is just incredible. "Existence In The Unfurling" is a perfect piece of music, the way those glassy melodies spiral and leap across each other is otherworldly.

This is most excellent, and yeah, "Existence In The Unfurling" is so great, that, while really appreciating the composition of the short pieces here, and how finished they are...the lengthy exploration of the final track is just fantastic. What a closer.

Would echo the see her live if you can! The Bitchin' Bajas pairing last yr. was perfect (and Rob Frye from that outfit supplies horns and woodwinds here, I believe).

i saw her open for grouper last year in san francisco, and it was the only experience i've had where the opening act blew me away with their live performance. the new album is excellent, a cornucopia of wondrous sound, and i'm excited to have it accompany my life in these next few spring and summer months.

this is a gorgeous album

btw, the vinyl copies were very affordable, Euclid is $15 on amazon including digital download. They seemed slightly lightweight, but sound fantastic.

EARS is fantastic, can't wait to see her open for the AC next month.

this album is gorgeous and i love it. i wasn't going to say anything bc i have little to contribute beyond this but i wanted to annoy lj.

Yeah, I'm into this.

this is such a gift

Shared this album with a couple friends the other day very loud on the home hifi. They kind of just sat back and just said "wow" once the first track finished. After the album was done, we looked at each other and wondered aloud how we were going to put on another album after this one.

so good. have been nerding out on modular stuff lately - but more the gear than the music being made by it - so to hear something come along like this and just blow you away is a welcome correction as much as anything else.

GOOD MUSIC

yep

i might prefer euclid to the new one tbh

i do 2 but the new one is still wonderful

looking fw to seeing her live in NY soon. Put a song on this mix:

http://www.imposemagazine.com/bytes/new-music/dan-selzer-a-heavenly-imposition-mix

imago was complaining about this in another thread so i checked it out and am loving it so far, thanks LJ! :)

complaining?

Bitterly at that. His loss!

seriously, I don't keep up with most new ilx threads, but I don't see how this record is particularly ILX-friendly. Maybe because the review compares it to Fever Ray/The Knife?

many xp to Vast Halo

I'm not saying "wow modular synths haven't been used in a pop context before", she literally actually changed the way they are performed-- when she first emerged, singing songs while doodling along on a Music Easel, it was an absolutely new thing. How can I describe it? I hadn't seen modular synth used in such a pre-ordained way, like, she had specifically written a very precise way of performing something (which still left room for improvising), it was a far cry from the way I'd previously seen modular synths used by, like, Alessandro Cortini or Emeralds or any of the other normal dude modular synthesists.

The Blow have recently been doing something similar, albeit with more focus on the message and politic of the songs, with different but equally resonant effect

Alright, fair enough!

many xps - Monetizing mindfulness is gross, Calm is probably less of a grift than a lot of shit related to that.

i know those apps are corny but I'm not capable of going full Hoos into real Buddhist shit but even breathing for 5 minutes helps

as jim in vancouver noted, if anyone thinks Calm is a New Age grift, never move to Cascadia

if you do a google search for kaitlyn aurelia smith vaccination, you won't be able to find much, if anything. i'd guess that this thread may become the top search result for it, soon.

hey any anti-vaxxers who end up on this thread via Google - EAT SHIT AND DIE.

tbf that's kind of what they're trying to do

for what its worth, i only brought it up because it was disappointing to learn. i never said or implied she should be canceled, but when an artist makes their dumb ass beliefs public, of course i'm going to think differently of them.

xxxxp this sums up my feelings perfectly and informs my comments above. I'm not cancelling KAS at all, and will still enthusiastically buy her records and see her perform, but it's hard not to express disappointment and see her in a different light.

xxp fgti, I'll check out The Blow!

many xps - Monetizing mindfulness is gross, Calm is probably less of a grift than a lot of shit related to that.

― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Thursday, May 21, 2020 2:43 PM (yesterday)

I think I agree with you. For some instinctual reason that stuff feels manipulative and creepy to me. It's kinda in the same vein as those "we send you a box of things in the mail" services that supplant the requirement to do basic adult tasks? I think for me, the aspect that feels creepy and manipulative (the new age stuff) is that it implies you are incapable of adequately taking care of your own base human needs (like base of the maslow pyramid, base needs) and require this specialized service in order to do so? But as this thread shows, there are intelligent people who find these apps and what-not actually useful and don't mind paying for them? So I should just re-think my instinctual reaction.

i wouldn't blow $60 on Calm, but i might if i had more money. but it wouldn't be for learning how to address my base human needs, and i honestly i wouldn't assume that would be anyone else's intention, either. instead, it would just be to get some nice guided yoga and meditation exercises. i don't see yoga or meditation as a pursuit of base of the maslow pyramid, physiological needs. if anything they're more for the top of the pyramid - esteem and self-actualization. just sitting and being quiet (..calm?) and breathing feels really good. i have trouble doing it without some sort of audio or visual guide, though. i get distracted, otherwise.

but i don't know, i don't actually buy any of these apps or subscriptions or anything, so i don't know what they're hawking on there. i just look for youtubes and have never felt the need to pay for anything beyond that.

she's grifting live on the p4k IG right now:

https://www.instagram.com/pitchfork/

I don't know, it beats doing nothing.

it's like someone on Twitter was shading meal kit services, I love HelloFresh, 3 nights a week I don't have to think about what to make my kid, no shopping for some spice I'll use once every 5 years, plus motherfucker I know you live off DoorDash

it's like someone on Twitter was shading meal kit services, I love HelloFresh, 3 nights a week I don't have to think about what to make my kid, no shopping for some spice I'll use once every 5 years, plus motherfucker I know you live off DoorDash

lol

i don't actually buy any of these apps or subscriptions or anything, so i don't know what they're hawking on there. i just look for youtubes and have never felt the need to pay for anything beyond that.

fair enough -- i guess it's similar to how i look online for recipes when i can't decide what to make for dinner or what the typical ingredients are for some dish -- these resources exist and why not use them to improve your life.

Without a spiritual tradition to fall back on, it seems hard for westerners to not worry about ‘not meditating right’ and I guess these apps can help but I wish there was a better, non-monetized way.

there are many free youtubes

though you pay google for ads, but you if you do anything on the internet you already do that

I don’t know, should the “providers of this service” be compensated, is it labor, blah blah blah

Without a spiritual tradition to fall back on, it seems hard for westerners to not worry about ‘not meditating right’ and I guess these apps can help but I wish there was a better, non-monetized way.

There are really good books, guided meditations, dharma talks, all available for free or low cost. There are good retreats that are free all over the world (not an option at the moment but.) If you live in a major urban area you can find a group of people to sit with (that would be via Zoom now.)

The problem is that the non-commercial stuff doesn't market itself well, so you have to know it's there.

dharmaseed.org

I use Meditation Studio now, good app, think it was $7 or something, but it's a 1 time fee not subscription

but in addition to the 8 million other decisions that I make every day that I'm informed are wrong and bad, good to know that the thing I use to breath for 5 minutes a day is bad and I should use some other thing that is good

I know this is simplistic and probably goes w/o saying for most who maintain a practice, but the game changer for me was accepting that the "right" way to meditate (in vipassana meditation anyway) is just to acknowlege that's it's not working e.g. "oh look, now I'm thinking about this instead" and it changed the experience for me—this idea that you can't fuck it up so long as you observe yourself fucking it up

Brad Warner’s ‘sit down and shut up’ advice eventually worked for me but it took some getting past notions of “am I sitting correctly.”

I know all the other resources exist but many of them are tied to a spiritual tradition people may not be interested in and the success of Calm (or etc.) is that it’s an app on the device you carry with you all the time and not a class you have to travel to. Short of convincing everyone there’s no wrong way to meditate, it lowers the barrier to entry - unfortunately for $$$.

Yeah I hadn't thought about explicit Buddhism being a barrier for some people, good point. Also I know nothing about Calm, not trying to knock it.

there was a great looking sorta cranky ebook I found on amazon once that seemed to focus on berating westerners for practicing mindfulness/meditation as a means to stress reduction/self help when they should just be doing it as a means to contemplate hell

now that I want a link to

what music can soundtrack a guided meditation on hell

Dark ambient?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTXXCmX3t1g

no way is hell ambient

i guess with Calm, they do the cultural appropriation for you? idk i deal with anxiety the American way by taking pharmaceuticals proscribed by a doctor and partially covered by my health insurance company ... not saying that's the "right way" making a joke mostly ... just that I don't understand this whole meditation / relaxation industry

You don’t need to meditate to be meditating maaaaan.

Revisiting this thread, reminded of more comfortable, more inconsequential, more moribund times

Real lol at this:

she's grifting live on the p4k IG right now:

"Grifting" should become common usage as a verb to describe somebody using a modular synth

beats "wiggling"

But surely one sketches on a music easel.

New track: https://kaitlynaureliasmith.bandcamp.com/track/lagoon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpXOlcpoj1c

Every time I listen to this record I forget it's on until "Expanding Electricity" rolls around. Really poor first single to album quality ratio.

yeah, couldn't wait after listening to the preview, got the album off bandcamp and it was such a let down after that first release.

Still waiting for the vinyl from Bandcamp, which was ordered on the first bandcamp friday!

holy fuck, this new record……. my god

I saw Max Tundra bigging this up, and reports are that it's a whole new sound, so I'll chance a listen, even though she's done nothing but annoy me before

Nah, same stuff repackaged. Maybe a bit less ambient than before, and there's probably more variation, but so many of the vocal, melodic, timbral choices are purpose-built to infuriate me still. Track 7 is quite good though! There I said it etc.

it leaked?

it came out yesterday

saw it being described as hyperpop and am disappointed it didn't live up to that

Well an hour ago when I posted that the bandcamp still had it in pre-order status. Just checked again and the page has updated, how about that.

I've given the new one a couple of half listens, and it's really not connecting. It seems too disjointed, and not in a fun po-mo OPN kind of way. Just ideas clashing with one another, with no real conceptual basis.

I still adore EARS though, and Sunergy. Guess I'm more into the bubbling synth arpeggios and orchestration, and less into the vocals and attempts at subversive 'structure'. KAS is great at ambient textures, and not so hot at 'songs' imo.

She’s playing a free show in a couple weeks at the museum where I work - in LA

https://hammer.ucla.edu/programs-events/2023/kaitlyn-aurelia-smith

KAS is great at ambient textures, and not so hot at 'songs' imo

I was broadly in this camp too until the jolly new single which does both texture and tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pODPke5PJ24