Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Interviews
  • Giveaways
  • Playlists
  • Shop
    • Merchants Of Air releases
  • About us
    • About Us
    • Writers Wanted
    • Logos and banner
    • Advertise
    • Mailinglist

Maud the Moth – Orphne

16/5/2020

Comments

 
avant garde / piano
bandcamp
facebook
Picture
Comparisons can be so misleading. But every once in a while one can totally agree with the promo writer. When receiving the promo email for this record it said “For Fans of Chelsea Wolfe, Julia Holter, Anna von Hausswolf, Jarboe, Agnes Obel”. While I can really agree with using these as a cornerstone for the vocals, I think the most obvious one is lost here: Tori Amos. 

Amaya López-Carromero, born in Madrid and now residing in Edinburgh, is a classically-trained piano player and it becomes really obvious in the mix of her third record that the keys are the basis for her work. But we are not talking about a piano-only instrumentation. Just like Anna von Hauswolff a lot of layers are added to the soundscape; from a guitar and drums to cello and violin. Nevertheless, it doesn’t add up to a classical European ensemble: It sounds like straight from the Near East, from Iran or Syria, a place where cultures clash and together create so much more. Maud the Moth is an enigma, her voice is gentle and touching and yet at times it sounds dark and dangerous and this space between lurking and luring is the magic behind her work. 

It is easy to envision a nomad caravan in the 19th century traveling on camels from Istanbul to Damascus to bring several spices and something else, this piano that the lady of the spice merchant needs in order to enchant the travelers in the evening. The oasis is filled with the melody of minor and major keys accompanied by the violins and cellos and the sweet tea is strong and spicy and the air is still damp from the daytime-heat. And then they hear her voice, not strong and cheerish, but fragile and lamenting. They notice that she is singing about her grief and loss, about living at the crossroads and trying to find oneself. Another comparison that can be made is Declan De Barra and his debut record “Song of a Thousand Birds” because of the compositional value. The lamentations are like minuscule folk tales and sound like the result of hundreds of years oral history and traditional storytelling. It seems quite unbelievable that this is the work of such a young woman but then again, age is just a number and talent is not measured in summers passed. This is also reflected in the album title, “Orphne” which was a mythical nymph dwelling in the ancient Greek underworld. The other connotation is the connection to “orphan” (both words share the same stem) and the absence of a patriarchal figure; an idea not really far from the very feminine yet strong aspects of the songs. The woman without a father has to grow strong and self-reliant in order to survive in a world where masculinity is still the driving force. 

When entering the world of Maud the Moth you should be prepared to leave behind your actual place and time and be ready to embark on a musical journey to the crossroad between modern day avantgarde song writing and near east soundscapes. You won’t have to worry about comparisons; just relax and enjoy this unique and self-sufficient record. Worth every moment. 


Thorsten

Comments
    Picture
    Support Merchants Of Air, check our our shirts

    Categories

    All
    Acoustic
    Alternative
    Ambient
    Americana
    Avant Garde
    Black Metal
    Blues
    Breakcore
    Classical
    Crust
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Jazz
    Darkwave
    Death Metal
    Doom
    Downtempo
    Dreampop
    Drone
    Drum & Bass
    Dungeon Synth
    EBM
    Edm
    Electronic
    Experimental
    Folk
    Folk Metal
    Funk
    Glitch
    Gothic
    Grindcore
    Grunge
    Hardcore
    Hard Rcok
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Metal
    Hip Hop
    House
    Idm
    Indie
    Industrial
    Jazz
    Krautrock
    Lo Fi
    Lo-fi
    Martial Industrial
    Math Rock
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Musique Concrète
    Neofolk
    New Wave
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Nu Metal
    Pop
    Post Hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post Punk
    Post Rock
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Progressive
    Psychedelic
    Psytrance
    Punk
    Rock
    Shoegaze
    Sludge
    Soul
    Soundtrack
    Southern Rock
    Space Rock
    Stoner Rock
    Symphonic Metal
    Synthpop
    Techno
    Thrash Metal
    Trance
    Trip Hop
    Vaporwave

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.