Lacy Katherine Strong - Uncommon Objects (Self Release) [Electronic Music]
How do you make it in electronic music when you're a brand-new artist? I guess that's a question Austin-based composer, sound designer and multi-disciplinary artist Lacy Katernine Strong is mulling at the moment after taking her first recorded music steps by releasing her debut EP at the start of September. She's making things even more difficult for herself too, by leaning towards the deeper, less popular end of the genre, but fortunately, it appears she's been developing a nice line in machine fusion sounds, where ambient, minimalism, sound design, field recordings, and here, live-sounding drums, all rub shoulders like it's the most normal thing in the world.
I have a genuine feeling she'll be alright; there's serious quality to Uncommon Objects, and I guess she's been hard at work in practise rooms and the studio for years before deciding to step out of the door and head towards brighter lights. It certainly helps, and is further sign of her obvious talent, that she's already been working in the audio shadows for visual media prior, even winning a compositional award for a soundtrack project.
Muted, throbbing, pleasantly distorting synths, reversed sounds and church bells get the EP ball rolling - a mildly uneasy, low-key dramatic wave of the arms to an unsuspecting world, before some nice, live-sounding drums propel the synths that slowly morph into minimal, droning, ambient and cascading forms to provide a brain-nourishing atmosphere to the percussive call to move your arse. "Variety of uses" then keeps the drum stool warm, ups the tempo in live, cultured breakbeat fashion, and dials up the ambient vibes even further; this is music for the hip and heads - DJs needing some start-of-night atmosphere-building tunes take note.
There's a classical winking, cinematic opening to "quality reassurance" before a looped synth and muted, broken drum machine rhythm increase the tempo even further, whilst the orchestra in a box adopts a half-timing leisurely approach, as Strong's disembodied voice haunts the soundscape to ensure an ambient win. Just in case you've broken a sweat, Strong then ditches the percussion in favour of a deep soundscape dive, crafting a synthesizer sound-as-rhythm skeleton for the lovingly detailed, cultured ambient vibes on the EP title track, which leads the way nicely for the ambient pop of the EP closing "spatial drift" - a hypnagogic slice of voice-infused, electronic music whimsy that forgoes structure in favour of atmosphere and sees this accomplished debut out in fine, hazy, woozy style.
One to watch, I reckon. And if Strong is hitting your electronic music sweet spot then don't hesitate to hit play on Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer's Different Rooms album.
Playlist Companion
Find Strong in the Slowtronic Playlist.
