April Emily, recording under the name ff8282, has released their new album a thin membrane between her hands, the understated power of soundscapes that swim in ambient waters that soothe as well as treat the brain to a gentle sonic bath.
One of the great joys of this album is the mixture of the synthesised with the analogue as it includes guitar, bass and piano as well as found sounds. These elements drift in and out of the mix, swirling together in a satisfying miasma of electronic susurrations. The opening track ‘resolut’ is a wash of elongated string sounds that seem designed to clear your mind for the rest of the album, these are built on with ‘runaways coming undone’ which allows the strings to create more form and melody.
‘but to the censured’ has found sounds wrinkle like warped tape getting grittier towards the end, as if being passed through sandpaper. This cedes to the bubbling water and far off stretched chords on ‘poisson’, and the underlying judder of ‘deep, wonderful, pregnant’. But, for me the standout tracks are ‘summer, all too human’, which softly deforms a strummed acoustic guitar and adds tiny moments of piano, and ‘to the skin’s raw edges’ which places a jazz-like set of chords and haunting tune on a piano into a floating mixture of static and rain.
April Emily says of the album, “I told myself I wouldn’t release these pieces, that they were too raw and strangely incomplete for listeners to find any redeeming or identifying qualities in them. Everything I created seemed oddly empty, they had this effect of lending themselves to whatever thoughts were crossing my mind. It was a weird feeling as most of my music up to this point demanded to be at the forefront of everything. I guess that’s what this album is about; the fleetingness of everything, not just the moments and music that talk to you, but the ones that listen.”
I am very glad a thin membrane between her hands was released as peace and tranquillity are sadly lacking in modern life. The album can be pliable and comforting but also has a soft abrasiveness that gives the mind something to grip onto and ponder. This is a soundtrack for the subconscious, the kind of music that could accompany REM sleep. It offers a sonic forcefield against the outside world and allows time to slow while inviting the listener into a half-glimpsed world that can be pensive and melancholy, but always remains enchanting and full of strange beauty.
In keeping with the tape oscillation on many of the tracks, the album is being released as a limited edition cassette which you can pick up if you are lucky enough to go to the launch party on November 6th at Junk Bar in Queensland, Australia.
ff8282: Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Released through 4000 Records: Bandcamp | Instagram | Bluesky | Facebook | YouTube
Not sure if it’s relevant but ff8282 is a hex colour:
Review by Paul F Cook
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook | Bluesky | Instagram | Threads | Mailing List