Short Story

In the soggy swamps there lies a mystery that only the dense foliage can recall. It is one of the magical animals that clanks and swerves its way through the ever growing and changing landscapes. It is told the mystery creature tends to the bustling greens and blues, maintaining the natural phenomenon to ensure it ever lasting beauty. The creature lives out of sight but can be heard playing subtle sounds at times of the day and night, helping the swamp flourish.

Release

We premiere ‘Filicophyta’ off of Laminas latest album Olas Curatives that is due for release Decemebr 6 via London’s Twin System. Ahead of its release we chatted to Lamina about the albums creation process, performing live, concepts throughout the album and the future of Lamina. We also premiere a 3D film clip created by Stanislas Paruzel for the track ‘Filicophyta‘.

Olas Curativas is an album pieced together by recordings and live performances over the years. Run us through your thoughts and feelings on the process of creating the album? 

Olas Curativas is the album I’ve worked on the most. It was a long process, and I came back to it several times. The title came to me during a hypnosis session, where I felt waves merging with my body to heal me. I wanted to pay tribute to that, and think of each track as a vision that appeared to me during hypnosis sessions. These are landscapes and ecosystems that intertwine and flow into one another, passing through swamps, deep seas, air and different energies and elements.

I composed the album over two years, revisiting sounds used in live performances, but also incorporating sounds I’ve been collecting and recording for several years. I have a field recording practice, and I modify these sounds to use them in my tracks and live shows. I really see the sound as a material like another so I try to give it a movement or a shape as I do with ceramic or another material.

I really wanted to create the cover myself, and since I’m not very skilled with digital tools for making visuals, I decided to use a medium I’m somewhat familiar with: ceramics. I made two bas-reliefs in ceramics, one for the front and one for the back, with the album title and track names. I then fired and glazed them.

I am also super happy that my friend Stanislas Paruzel made a wonderful 3D videoclip to accompany my track Filicophyta. He managed to capture the vibe of the track and the universe of the album, the landscapes, the creatures, the textures… He did a fantastic job. There’s also the track ‘Las vidrieras’, featuring my friend Luna aka Fiesta En El Vacio. I really wanted to have a feature on this album, and it was clear to me Luna was the right person to invite. I think this track is the deepest on the album for me.

Your music is rooted in performing live, why is performing/playing live important to you and how has it changed/developed over the years? 

I go through several phases in my creative process. There are times when I do a lot of live performances, and I feel the need to share what I’m doing, and then there are quieter periods where I need to spend time in my studio, not playing live, to record things and create new sounds. My live performances are never the same, so I often need to go through these research phases. When I first started doing live shows, it was quite a difficult process for me. I didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of being the center of attention, having lots of people watching me for 40 minutes. I felt strange being immobile, touching buttons, and being in front of an audience. 

But little by little, I realized that live performances are about much more than that. They are real moments of sharing and connection with people, energy connections, vibrations. And I think sharing those moments, and creating a community, is a way to resist. I also feel that performing live is a therapeutic process for me; it helps me open up, connect with others, show my vulnerabilities, and work on my fear of being judged. It also allows me to maintain an element of improvisation and freedom in my music. Live shows are never the same because I try to connect to how I’m feeling in the moment, and how I sense the vibe around me. It’s about creating a moment of sharing and connection between individuals, creating emotional and sensory bonds and connecting energies within a shared space-time.

With the release of ‘Olas Curativas’ close, how do you perceive and feel about the album now?

I didn’t listen to it for quite a while, but I recently revisited it, especially when I received the test press. It’s an album that’s really important to me. Of course, I can see things I would do differently today, like mixing changes, etc., but I love the idea that an album is a trace of a moment in our life. I listen to it and think, “Yes, this was me at that time.” I can see the changes, how I’ve evolved, where I am now. And I think it’s beautiful to be able to remember that and respect it without devaluing it. I’m happy to share this album, and it’s always a strange feeling to spend so much time on an album, then once it’s released, it no longer belongs to me. It goes on with its life, but it’s no longer in my hands; I let it live its own life.

There are a lot of concepts, feelings and thoughts throughout Olas Curativas. Can you talk us through how they were conceived and how they developed? 

As I mentioned earlier, this album is sort of a representation of a trip I experienced during hypnosis sessions. There are very clear visions and others that are more blurred. Some moments are dark, and others are more luminous; like the different parts of ourselves.

Water is ever-present in my work; in my installations such as Eunoé, where water flows through glass sculptures, or in my music, where I create aquatic, sonic environments. A major reference for me is hydrofeminism, particularly the work of Astrida Neimanis and her book Bodies of Water: Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology, where she explores our deep connection with water, proposing a vision of the human body as a “body of water” that interacts fluidly with the world. Her research is situated within a posthumanist feminist and ecological perspective, highlighting the interdependence and porosity of our bodies, not only among ourselves but also with our environment. 

What are some elements of your up and coming live performances that you are looking forward to? 

Right now, in my live performances, I’m including physical elements, like objects I create (ceramics, etc.), with my electronic machines. I try to blend my two practices (sound and visual arts) to push my experiments with materials. I did a new performance that I’ve played once, where I use dried clay that I dissolve with water. When the clay comes into contact with water, it releases air, and I amplify this process with six hydrophones. You hear very organic sounds, almost like frogs. The hydrophones go into a Max/MSP patch, and I create a soundscape that is spatialized across eight speakers. Lately, I’ve been leaning more toward performances like this, where I test different, very organic things. I am looking forward to doing it again! 

What’s next for Lamina?

I want to take some time to focus on finishing an album I’m working on and continue sharing my music through concerts. The Olas Curativas release party at Spanners on December 5th is my last of the year, and then we’ll see what happens next year. 🙂 I also have quite a few upcoming exhibition projects related to my visual art practice, so I’m trying to combine both.

Pre order the album here

Buy tickets to Lamina Live at Spanners London Dec 5 here