LAコンテンポラリー〜電子音楽のキーマンの一人であるJulius SmackによるPractical Records周辺の作家であり、YouTubeチャンネルU.R.L.G.U.R.L.の主宰も務める電子音楽家〜マルチメディアアーティストWizard Apprenticeが、Headboggleなどを筆頭にUS地下を中心とした人選で渋さを放つオークランドのRatskinからリリースした2018年作。見逃してしまった昨年の傑作のひとつ。”現代のBeverly Glenn-Copeland”と形容したくなる落ち着きながらも魂をじわじわと揺さぶる歌唱とローファイ・シンセ、時折アコースティック・ギター。決してハイファイでも革新的でもない。数十年前からの歴史の線上にある音色。彼女の音楽はどこかで聴いたことがあるような気がする。ただ、聴き進めていったときに訪れる「Research Stage of Love」が、そのビートがもたらす時間のなんと美しいことか。なんと力強いことか。
For their Ratskin Records debut, “I Am Invisible”, Wizard Apprentice reveals thirty two minutes of experimental, folk-oriented compositions for voice and electronics spanning across a vast landscape of melody, space, contemplation, storytelling, and idiosyncratic compositional strategies. “I Am Invisible” is an intimate exploration of the complexities of Carter’s vast array of folk based strategies of interpretation of meaning, memory, structure and form. Through warm, cinematic, funky, arpeggiated synthesizers, elegantly crafted string sections, complex, multi timboral drum programming and a uniquely refined, intimate, vocal presentation, Wizard Apprentice offers her most venerable and focused work to date. Catch her on a US tour starting September 14th at Pro Arts in Oakland, CA, running through November 2018. Advanced copies of “I Am Invisible” will be available on her US tour and released through the label on 9/28.
Wizard Apprentice is an independent electronic music producer, motion graphics and live performance artist. As a highly-sensitive introvert, her multimedia projects are strategies for energetically managing an overwhelming world. Her music is a combination of lyrical precision, minimalistic composition, and technically amateurish charm. She creates digitally-based media that takes advantage of accessible, user-friendly technology; allowing her to skip time consuming learning curves and get straight to focusing on inventing personalized yet highly relatable language for deeply subtle and internal experiences. She's not a gear-head, rather, a digital folk artist who vividly and simplistically expresses her inner world using resourcefulness and honesty. Her video work incorporates green screen graphics, digital puppetry, and minimalistic compositing to produce imagery that’s cerebral, campy, and hypnotic. She combines song and video to create multimedia live performances that explore intimate emotional themes ranging from the challenges/triumphs of being an empath to overstimulation in the Internet Age.