Bleep

US composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith debuts on Western Vinyl with a mesmerising first album. Although almost entirely written on a Buchla Music Easel synthesiser, Euclid comprises of a number of distinctive compositional approaches – Smith takes inspiration from early electronic music pioneers like Terry Riley and Laurie Spiegel, euclidian geometry and silent films. It is those pillars that inform the album's structure and overall sound aesthetic: while the first half explores the idea of turning geometric 3D shapes into sound, the second half consists of a series of soundbites which Smith originally intended as new soundtracks to old silent films. 'Labyrinths I-XII’ stand out as tiny organisms of sound, painting the sonic equivalents of ice fishing, hang gliding or watching glaciers collapse. Smith executes those rich concepts with a surprising warmth throughout, her wordless vocals seamlessly filling the gaps between the curious analogue chords.