[photo by Nathan A. Verrill]
Bay Area-based multi-instrumentalist LEILA ABDUL-RAUF will unveil her third solo album, Diminution, next week. The latest single, “Life Leaving,” is now streaming at Heathen Harvest ahead of the album’s release.
The follow-up to her highly-acclaimed 2015-released Insomnia album, Diminution sees LEILA ABDUL-RAUF – widely respected for her work in Vastum, Ionophore, Cardinal Wyrm, Hammers Of Misfortune, Fyrhtu, and many other acts – taking a more stripped-down approach to her uniquely haunting and shadowy soundscapes. While retaining a firm grasp on the feeling of urban desolation and early morning solitude, Diminution‘s tracks are generally longer than previous works and feel more spacious and open, where sparse melodies and gentle textural flow meet ethereal choral vocals, distant trumpet, delicate guitar, and luminous, yet melancholy drones and warm tonal drift.
“‘Life Leaving’ is about watching a loved one die, and how I imagine the death experience to be from their perspective – an entire life of memories flashing through their mind in those final seconds,” offers ABDUL-RAUF of the song. “Word painting is used with the lyric, ‘blood life leaving, flowing down,’ repeated at the end, as the music slows and grinds to a final halt.”
Stream LEILA ABDUL-RAUF’s “Life Leaving” at Heathen Harvest RIGHT HERE.
Also listen to the LP’s title track HERE.
Diminution is another spellbinding work from LEILA ABDUL-RAUF for those seeking solace in quiet and introspective music residing just on edge of consciousness. All songs on Diminution were self-composed, performed, and produced, after which the tracks were mastered by Myles Boisen at Headless Buddha Mastering Lab, and the album completed with striking artwork by Matthew Jaffe and layout by Kristoffer Oustad and James Livingston.
Diminution will see digital release on April 13th and physical release on May 11th, on CD through Malignant Records and on LP through Cloister Recordings and Black Horizons. Watch for physical preorder links, a video from the record, and more to be released shortly.
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http://www.malignantrecords.com
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http://www.malignantrecs.bandcamp.com
https://www.soundcloud.com/malignantrecords
http://www.black-horizons.com
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