Elizabeth Joan Kelly – LF17 / Edinburgh
LF17 / Edinburgh
Elizabeth Joan Kelly
May 2, 2024
April 3, 2024
February 25, 2024
February 18, 2024
October 10, 2023
September 3, 2023
August 6, 2023
July 30, 2023
July 5, 2023
June 25, 2023
December 10, 2023
August 24, 2023
November 26, 2023
February 4, 2024
September 11, 2023
June 11, 2023
June 1, 2023
May 15, 2023
May 7, 2023
April 27, 2023
April 23, 2023
April 16, 2023
April 5, 2023
April 11, 2023
March 26, 2023
March 19, 2023
February 26, 2023
February 9, 2023
January 26, 2023
December 11, 2022
December 3, 2022
November 21, 2022
November 14, 2022
January 29, 2023
January 22, 2023
January 15, 2023
January 8, 2023
December 30, 2022
October 19, 2022
September 17, 2022
September 8, 2022
September 4, 2022
July 3, 2022
June 25, 2022
June 23, 2022
June 1, 2022
May 22, 2022
May 28, 2022
July 17, 2022
June 28, 2022
July 8, 2022
July 13, 2022
July 22, 2022
July 21, 2022
May 6, 2022
April 27, 2022
April 18, 2022
April 4, 2022
March 15, 2022
February 27, 2022
February 24, 2022
February 13, 2022
February 8, 2022
January 31, 2022
January 20, 2022
January 25, 2022
January 10, 2022
December 23, 2021
December 16, 2021
December 6, 2021
December 1, 2021
November 11, 2021
November 2, 2021
October 29, 2021
October 26, 2021
October 20, 2021
September 13, 2021
Louis Pelingen
May 2, 2024
Tracks in this feature
Tracks in this release
The city of Edinburgh is littered with historical structures, their ornate designs loom and evoke a sense of magnificence. There is a haunting, yet nonetheless, alluring aura that permeates their very presence, from the gnarled, multi-level street systems to Edinburgh Castle, sitting impossibly atop Castle Rock. No wonder then, that Elizabeth Joan Kelly chose the location as both inspiration and wellspring for her auditory release. LF17 / Edinburgh carves out sonic pieces from sounds recorded by Mat Smith in the Scottish capital. Utilising these recordings, the Louisiana-based Elizabeth Joan Kelly instals them in a winding, open ambience.
There is an airy invitation that opens up Calton Hill, where dense rays of synthesisers and spying vocal swells move the listener to a spot where a light bathes everything around them like cold morning sun. The track refuses to stay idle, with the artist employing an uplifting ambient style with soaring melodies and classical pulses. There is a touch of reverence to the sound, white chilled light careering over the tops of the city’s buildings, weaving up and down its unique topography.
Moving down the road towards the grandeur of Princes Street Gardens, the overall mood is now flipped, where the tone is austere and even antiquated. The frigid soundscape feels more confrontational. You look up towards the gothic castle perched as sun breaks through its bones. It takes the listener on a journey down the soil, where the ray of bellowing organs and delayed synth pads offer a dour experience as darkness seems to coil. Yet those sun rays are fleeting moments of glimmer passing through, with a different layer of synth pads carrying that sense of light that eventually simmers away, collapsing upon the prominent dimmer instrumentation.
Calton Road Cobblestones ends Elizabeth Joan Kelly’s sonic exploration of a small patch of Edinburgh’s ground, taking the listener to a spare and empty space that opens up slightly through the wandering keys, frigid noise, mulling synth pads and emotive strings that close off the song. It’s an ending that lets free-wheeling melodies speak to the aura of Edinburgh, encapsulating the ominous yet rich spirit of the city.
A sonic experiment that makes use of open ambience and recordings to create enveloping sonic spaces. Ominous may be the history behind these buildings, yet through Elizabeth Joan Kelly’s viewpoint, the richness is exposed. The listener is welcomed to this place, historic, weathered but endearing.