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LP
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EMEGO 313LP
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Klara Lewis' latest offering is undoubtedly a heartfelt tribute to her friend, mentor and former label boss, Peter Rehberg. The opening track "Thankful" resides as a direct tribute to the track recorded under his PITA moniker, the timeless "Track 3." Countless new youth carve and project wildly distorted melodic digital matter which all falls back with a knowing or unknowing wink to this original ground zero monster. Klara's take on this is one that resides as a tribute to Rehberg with a cascading emotional melody gradually succumbing to a euphoric digital abyss. Thankful also comes across as a farewell gesture to her deceased friend with its beautiful, almost funeral tone. The abrupt ending is not only a method Rehberg would have relished but also a signifier of a life suddenly cut short. The track "Ukulele 1" is another tender tribute within an album made by a human, utilizing contemporary technology with absolute sincerity, surprise twists and sublime emotion. The sound of the instrument in the title gently loops and deconstructs in a recording replete with the sound of the room it is recorded in. A human element appears at exactly the point an increasingly inhuman approach is becoming the forced raison d'etre today. One of Peter's many repeated phrases was the word "top." One he used at any occasion to agree with a vast array of subjects. With this musical tribute to Rehberg's favorite phrase, Lewis conjures a short blast of mutant acid techno which shrivels and thrives as much as it lives and dies. Following "Top" is the reflective and deeply moving "4U." No words. Just sounds. As it was. And lives on. "Ukulele 2" sits at the end, as an epilogue of sorts, fashioning itself as an ouroboros with the return of the initial methodology of the previous track "Thankful." This time around the sublime melody of the previous "Ukulele 1" plays out in returnal as it is gently swarmed by all manner of digital play. Thankful is an emotionally considered and precise homage to the methodology and spirit of Peter Rehberg. A new work which inhabits the spirit for what this was written for and the general guise devised with the launch of the original MEGO label many moons ago.
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CD
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EMEGO 306CD
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Klara Lewis returns to Editions Mego with a surprising live set recorded in 2018. Expanding her exploratory vision into haunted realms of unheimlich sound, Live in Montreal 2018 consists of a single piece with three distinct discernible sections. The set opens with a crude rhythm churning away under a choral loop from which a diverse array of rhythm and noise appear and disappear. Despite its foreboding tone this sequence still retains a foot in the club, as damaged as that may be. A state of permanent collapse is a thread throughout. In this opening sequence an array of strange sonic elements is introduced, rise to the fore, threaten the fundamental discourse only to recede on the brink of destroying the work itself. It's this fascinating construct, this perpetual threat to the music itself that makes the listening experience so captivating. Midway the storm subsides laying bare a more static emotional framework rendered unrecognizable prior. Electronic phantoms swirl in a gentle fashion as ghostly voices come to the fold looping into an uneasy landscape shifting into a blurry utopian finale. Finding itself between decay and hope, Live in Montreal 2018 is another stunning addition to the consistently solid output from Klara Lewis. Digipak; edition of 300.
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LP
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EMEGO 270LP
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Following 2018's acclaimed collaboration with Simon Fisher Turner, Care (EMEGO 253LP), Swedish sound artist Klara Lewis returns with Ingrid, her third solo release for Editions Mego. Ingrid is a departure from Lewis's previous solo outings, drifting from the eerie rhythmic variations of Too (EMEGO 210CD/LP, 2016) and Ett (EMEGO 190LP, 2014) and moving assuredly into long-form experimentation. The piece retains those records' pulsing core and builds on a single cello loop that is steadily enveloped by a surge of distortion. It's almost like a voice or chant, shifting pointedly from a whisper into a scream before singing peacefully into the light. At times, Ingrid is reminiscent of William Basinski's looping melancholy or Steve Reich's controlled and innovative phase experiments, while at others, it recalls the chaotic Scandinavian physicality of black metal. Yet, the entire composition is anchored in Klara Lewis's distinct emotional world. By dissolving familiar and beautiful strings in baths of noise, Lewis allows something violent but tender to grow in its place. In a society struck through by cynicism, Ingrid is a cathartic listening experience and a beacon of hope. One-sided LP. Mastered by Sarah Register. Cut by Andreas Kauffelt at Schnitstelle, Berlin.
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CD
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EMEGO 210CD
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Following her acclaimed 2014 debut, Ett (EMEGO 190LP), and the subsequent Msuic EP on Peder Mannerfelt's eponymous label (2014), Klara Lewis presents her second full-length, Too. Lewis's skill at sculpting the hermetic shines on Too as she twists her idiosyncratic vision into nine tracks of blurred rhythms and haunted backdrops. Too is a powerful statement in which the individual works tread a vast landscape as dour and aggressive elements rub shoulders with warmer, more optimistic works. Neither looking behind nor forward, these works spiral in a time of their own devising, presenting themselves as a most audacious theater for the ear. With a strong momentum developed from an organic outset the works move into a logic of their own, forming themselves as abstract landscapes, jittered rhythms, and even pop-like structures. Too is a deeply engaging display of sound and skewered sensibility that hovers on the cusp of reason and eludes the concrete. The results are Lewis's boldest statement to date. Written, produced, and mixed by Klara Lewis. Additional sound contributions on "Twist" and "Want" by Simon Fisher Turner. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, February 2016. Drawing by Klara Lewis. Layout by Andreas Karperyd.
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LP
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EMEGO 210LP
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LP version. Following her acclaimed 2014 debut, Ett (EMEGO 190LP), and the subsequent Msuic EP on Peder Mannerfelt's eponymous label (2014), Klara Lewis presents her second full-length, Too. Lewis's skill at sculpting the hermetic shines on Too as she twists her idiosyncratic vision into nine tracks of blurred rhythms and haunted backdrops. Too is a powerful statement in which the individual works tread a vast landscape as dour and aggressive elements rub shoulders with warmer, more optimistic works. Neither looking behind nor forward, these works spiral in a time of their own devising, presenting themselves as a most audacious theater for the ear. With a strong momentum developed from an organic outset the works move into a logic of their own, forming themselves as abstract landscapes, jittered rhythms, and even pop-like structures. Too is a deeply engaging display of sound and skewered sensibility that hovers on the cusp of reason and eludes the concrete. The results are Lewis's boldest statement to date. Written, produced, and mixed by Klara Lewis. Additional sound contributions on "Twist" and "Want" by Simon Fisher Turner. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, February 2016. Drawing by Klara Lewis. Layout by Andreas Karperyd.
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LP
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EMEGO 190LP
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2017 repress. Klara Lewis' debut release presents an electronically-charged reconstruction of organic sound matter. Ten tracks featuring a wide variety of sonic material which is subjected to Lewis' unique approach to the sonic landscape. Field recordings, small sounds, samples, ambient pot holes, repetition, and giddy disorientation are all tactics deployed by Lewis. On entering these works we take a voyage through a series of audacious audio adventures, playful musical miniatures and choppy sonic seas. There is a human warmth to much of the material as Lewis expertly crafts musical matter from the living world. Ett is an exemplary investigation as Lewis reconfigures the sounds of life itself, from the delirious to the tender. A bold vision from a bright new talent. Recorded, sampled, edited, manipulated, mixed, produced, and arranged by Klara Lewis. Artwork by Dave Coppenhall.
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