Coming off a series of album-length collaborations with experimental artists ranging from the harsh noise of Merzbow to the droning atmospherics of William Basinski, Australian ambient and field-recording artist Lawrence English is returning today with news of another new collaborative LP. This time around, English is teaming up with Japanese modern-classical composer Akira Kosemura for Selene, a record that sees both artists bonding over a shared love of incorporating the sounds and aesthetics of the natural world into minimal-yet-complex tapestries of sound.
This thematic focus comes through in the spacious lead single from the project, “Thela,” which layers contemplative piano riffing over a moody bed of ambient sound. To help bring a visual component to the world they created, English enlisted experimental filmmaker Malena Szlam to create a video further exploring these ideas. “Walking along eucalyptus forest trails near Meanjin [Brisbane], I was learning from Lawrence about listening,” Szlam explains. “We shared conversations about sound, about dimensions of time and phenomena and what transforms. Each meeting was a possibility to feel the force of understanding beyond, of observing and being present. Listening to the rain and the language of insects and birds, as subtle movements reverberate and our attention travels. In this atmosphere, ‘Thela’ cast the moon’s shadow on Earth of a solar eclipse and attracted the pulsations of a lunar eclipse I filmed in the Valle del Elqui and the sand and moon filmed in Butchulla country.”
English adds that he’s had the pleasure of working with Szlam on a number of videos in recent years, initially connecting with her over a field recording project. “Her work, and her sensibility as a filmmaker, are remarkable in their sense of depth and patience,” he says. “She finds a way for things to unfold as if they are outside of time. I approached Malena to make this film for ‘Thela’ following a series of discussions we had around lunar cycles and the light of the moon. From these simple prompts she created an entire universe for the piece.
Watch that universe unfold below.
