Lisa Lerkenfeldt

"'Halos of Perception' was inspired by Lerkenfeldt's encounter with a member of Cave Clan, an Australian "urban exploration" group who probe abandoned forts, drains, bunkers and tunnels, searching out places that most people ignore or purposefully avoid. Her friend would travel underground to visit a small room and read alone by candlelight, prompting Lerkenfeldt to consider how sound travels through concrete tunnels, and how people used to put on underground shows. She recreates this nervous atmosphere using nebulous piano loops and rumbling, bass-heavy throbs, letting gentler sounds trickle through the darkness like dripping rainwater. 

Considering the importance and trickiness of memory and oral traditions, Lerkenfeldt makes her music difficult to decipher, abstracting her phrases with irregular loop points and blurring her instrumentation with obscured field recordings and kinetic drones. On 'Stairway to the interior' it sounds as if she's jamming in a cavernous tunnel, with wind rushing around the concrete as she plays. 'A fragrance of moss and chalk' is even sludgier, looping indistinct piano notes over waterlogged scrapes and foley clanks. But there are cracks of light throughout: 'Cobwebs' finds glistening beauty in the system of caves and tunnels, and 'Amulet of sweat' pairs Lerkenfeldt's elegant piano playing with crunchy distortion, teasing the darkness with bright, dazzling sunshine." - Boomkat