[🎧Dungeon Synth🧝♀️] Aura Merlin Illuminations [2023]
Aesthetics
The aesthetics of the tape encourage to get acquainted - the dominating letter "I" for "Illuminations", a crane or a heron next to it, a mouse and a castle in the background. No people. This already suggests that the artist did not think about people when crafting the album, but about animals and ancient or medieval bestiary fantasies.
Sounds
What would you expect of such a cover? I'm asking because it's surely not what you will get. You would expect medieval, renaissance or baroque instruments, something that would connect us to the time period of bestiaries. "Screw your expectations", says the artist, "Here comes slow, pulsating electronics seeping in like psilocybin." No traditional instruments so far. (The Forgotten Dwelling + Illuminations)
There are times when Laura's mind wanders towards these sounds that remind us of the period. The melody goes pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake in the imitation of a trotting horse, drums speed up, and the tune of a more traditional... Flute? impose a different atmosphere, only to disperse like a cloud into windy passages, then to conclude that this previous tempo was just right and return to it. (The Enigmatic Gael)
Bananas
Pangs of hunger assaulted me when listening, and I grabbed a banana. Do "Illuminations" fit to eating bananas? Yes, they both have something yellow and sunny, especially in Fond Farewell, when sounds dissolve slugglishly, reminding of Earth "The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull". Both bananas and this song have no strong taste and serve best as a finisher. Therefore, if you wonder what kind of music might fit a banana, Illuminations might be fine, although only at the end.
