Lucy Johnson - Argos by Opal Tapes

Lucy Johnson - Soundtracks 2013 - 2019 Vol. 1 (OPAL168)
Tape / Digital
Released January 2020

Beautiful piano and violin driven drone works created by experimental musician Lucy Johnson as "soundtrack" pieces for several artists including Rachel Lancaster and Anna Peaker.

Opener 'Stage' pairs with the work 'Voicings' by Rachel Lancaster. Johnson unfurls a discordant plume of slow-mo violin creak which grows engimatically through layer and layer. 'Piano' is a delicate motif which gathers pace and velocity as it balls up and rolls forward. 'Argos' is a truly haunting construction of distended animal/child song and funeral piano padding an otherworldy environment and tracking the work of artist Ellen Burroughs pieces 'Return to Argos'.

'Mirror' is a stoic drone piece in the manner of Ora, Monos and... err... Mirror. Acoustic sounds blurred into shifting shapes which are never out, nor in, tune. Halo'ing harmonics encircle a space of gorgeous dread. It was created as interpretation and reimagination of Tarkovsky's 'Mirror' (1974)

'Vehicle' was constructed to work with the installation art of Katrina Cowling. Here Johnson suggests shortwave radio interfering with fridge glow like vibrations. The most synthetic sounding of all the pieces here it recalls the 4D sonics of Maryanne Amacher in drone mode.

As Volume 1, we can only hope for more recordings to be unearthed of Johnsons sympathetic and gorgeously lilting music. Please check out the visual artists who's work these soundtracks were designed for.

Rachel Lancaster
Anna Peaker
Ellen Burroughs
Katrina Cowling