Quinta - Aeolian Mixtape [CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: NONCLSS055
Barcode: 5050580795013
Release Date: 25 Nov 2022
Genre: Electronic

01: Meltemia - Quinta
02: Dasos - Quinta
03: Seirin - Quinta
04: Pneuma - Quinta
05: Horologion - Quinta
06: Chloris - Quinta
07: Aesolus, Keeper of the Winds - Quinta

Aeolian Mixtape is the third feature album of experimental composer and multi-instrumentalist Quinta (previously worked with Bat For Lashes and Orphans and Vandals).

During a recent period spent living in Greece, Quinta was inspired to design and hand-build Aeolian harps – harps which resonate with the wind.

The sound of the Aeolian harp is ethereal and distinctive, characterised by the rising and falling of harmonic frequencies swept into life by the wind. The sonority varies according to the strength and character of the wind and the various materials used to make each harp, including string type and length.

In the tracks 'Meltemia' and 'Aeolus', violin arpeggios and minimal piano accompany the sound of the harps as it builds in intensity. In turn, the track 'Horologion' is decisively more experimental with re-synthesised harp frequencies generating a kind of tape warmth. The album is underpinned by field recording – nearby birds, barking dogs, creaking trees or a bee flying into a harp string – keeping the music close to the Greek landscape it was written for. The result is a meditative album, flickering between drones and strings and always with the unique sound of the Aeolian harps at its heart.

Double bass by Thanos Polymeneas - Liontiris
Violin, viola, cello, electronics by Quinta
All compositions by Quinta

Recorded by Quinta except string improvisation sessions recorded and engineered by Thanasis Gikas at Studio Mythos, Athens
Edited and mixed by Quinta

Cover screenprint by Quinta
Cover design by Blue Maignien

“beautifully expressive intricacies”
Judith Mackrell — The Guardian

“most original and distinctive voice”
Pwyll ap Siôn — Gramophone

“genuinely fascinating”
Sam Sheperd — The Line of Best Fit

“Quinta raid her bag of tricks to create a sound that sounds so strikingly alien, yet brimming with such passion and humanity.”
Christopher McBride — Fresh On The Net