LOULA YORKE ‘Volta’

Out in the flatlands of Suffolk, Loula Yorke has a new home where the modulations can roam. And, it’s from this newly established Cottage Studio, Yorke has captured a freshly honed sound. Formulating a set of creative strictures, a commitment was undertaken: no granular synthesis, no vocals, no drums. Instead, Volta is a harnessing of the infinite possibilities of the loop in a series of composed studies. No, not a dry academic exercise, but a luminous exploration. Yes, these svelte electronic missives share space on a timeline with the pioneering work of many diode prospectors, and yet, moreover, you’ll hear parallels with recent triumphs such as Colleen’s Le jour et la nuit du réel.

Adopting a Bauhaus style aesthetic, the seven tracks are devoid of free improv, and bereft of glitch, clearing a pathway to a deep resonance. You may have already fallen for the silken sculpted arcs of The Grounds Are Changing As They Promise To Do, and soon, you’ll be ensnared by the hirsute machinations of An Example of Periodic Time, and the thrumming finality of Falling Apart Together.

Perhaps the Cottage Studio stands on St. Michael’s Ley line, or more likely, this is the result of hours of disciplined study from an astute and enquiring musical mind. Nonetheless, Volta has tapped into ancient rituals far beyond electronica, to deliver a series of absorbing studies gracefully mapping the contours of life.