#55 Feat. Staff Picks in Electronica

a pool, a portal an exploration of possible futures from life after humans to ecosystems in regrowth reworlding and rewilding androids with memories of being human searching for meaning in new myths accessing alternate timelines while de-centering humans from the narrative grappling with who we are as hybrid creatures learning from other forms of intelligence in search of new ways of being ~ Tristan Arp returns to Wisdom Teeth with his sophomore LP: a pool, a portal - a vast, multi-dimensional record of pin-drop rhythms, hushed vocals and swirling ambience that maps out a vivid limbic space between the natural and the digital worlds. The LP began life while Tristan was still living in Mexico City, and was subsequently finished in New York. Carrying on from where his acclaimed debut Sculpturegardening left off, the record marries hallucinatory modular synths with cello, found sound and spoken word, creating a rich sonic world in which machines mimic nature and acoustic instruments merge with their digital counterparts. Across the records narrative arc, listeners are invited to imagine a future world in which nature and machines collaborate to rewild and search for new modes of being. Far from apocalyptic, the artists vision is yearning and hopeful - a reflection on how we might evolve to overcome our very human limitations. Hopefully we can all open a little portal into another world and integrate what we learn into our own, Tristan offers. True to his word, Tristan shared much of the creative process with his machines, using modular generative processes to create randomised, improvisatory moments that he could collaborate on as artist and observer. Most of the tracks were captured in single takes as live performances and improvisations that were subsequently edited and cut down. Speaking of Life After Humans - the records beguiling 10-minute centrepiece - Tristan recalls: I neglected to record multi-track outs, but it was actually super empowering to be left with just a stereo track: I couldnt mix individual elements even if I wanted to after the recording, but Im happy I inadvertently limited myself in that way. Alongside his own voice, the record features a stunning appearance from fast-rising Guatemalan cellist and vocalist, Mabe Fratti. The pair met in Mexico City in 2020, where she helped Tristan to learn cello - an encounter that ultimately went on to inform the recordings that made up Sculpturegardening. Her appearance on a pool, a portal marks a full-circle moment in their creative relationship. The albums artwork features photography by Zhang An - a photographer based in Nanjing, China. Despite their appearances, these are unmanipulated photos of real-world ice formations. As is the case throughout a pool, a portal, the lines between the natural and the artificial are playfully indistinct. –––––––––––––– Tristan Arp will tour Asia in October 2024. Wisdom Teeth is currently celebrating its 10th year with a global run of tour dates and festival takeovers as well as special releases and merch drops.

Tristan Arp, Mabe Fratti