Less Bells - Solifuge - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

2018 . The full-length debut by Julie Carpenter's Joshua Tree, California, ambient orchestral project Less Bells emerged from the drama and desolation of it's high desert origins. She cites certain compositions as being Inchspecifically inspired by August monsoons rolling in over the mountains, others by clear, starry nights.Inch Utilizing an array of electronic and acoustic instruments, including cello, Optigan, violin, voice, and modular synth, Solifuge conflates not only the solitude and refuge of it's title but also intimacy and grandeur, fragility and force, Inchbuilding from austerity to wild overgrowth.Inch She speaks of a creative process involving cut-ups and rearranging, mapping a melody for strings only to transpose it to synth, or refashioning a rigid classical piece as stream of consciousness soundscape. Carpenter's versatility and embrace of flux fills these songs with a living, breathing quality, restrained but responsive, adapting to shifting conditions and emotions beneath the surface.