Julia Holter - Live Recordings (Cassette tape)

Since her gorgeous recent ‘Ekstasis’ 2LP dropped I’ve been listening to a fair bit of Julia Holter, so it’s nice to have something in from her which I’ve not already listened to death. On this tape we’ve got 12 solo live recordings of her ethereal experimental synthpop stylings. Actually I saw her live the other day and she had a cellist and (really fantastic and unusual-styled) drummer with her...also this deviates from the point a little but by a weird coincidence both my siblings are going to see her live tonight in Slovenia(!).

Anyway, on here she doesn’t have a band, it’s just her and her synthesizer making quite soulful drifty pop interspersed with pleasant little soundscapey bits. It’s really lovely, and the recordings are always well balanced, if a little muddy and lo-fi in places (which actually suits the aesthetic just fine anyway). I just wish I was out in the sunshine listening to this on a boombox whilst sipping cocktails with my homies rather than stuck in the office where it’s accompanied by tape guns and manly grunts of physical exertion. There’s a dusky, hypnotic, timeless quality to these recordings which is reminding me a little of Ela Orleans, which is definitely a good thing. I’ll be taking one of these home with me, and I’d recommend you get involved while it’s here.