SUSANA LOPEZ

Elevator Bath is well pleased to present "Crónica de un secuestro," the proper debut album from multidisciplinary artist Susana López.

These compositions were created in March 2020, during the lockdown, as the artist understandably experienced feelings of isolation, of being cloistered against her will. Perhaps this explains the album's attention to space. The notions of movement and exploration pervade the early pieces on this epic collection. The expansive drone and panning rhythms of album opener, "Luz Negra," seem to create an infinite landscape, which seamlessly continues through the title track and all the way to the pure field recordings at work in "Ibn Arabi." The walls begin to close in as "Crónica de un secuestro" progresses, however, culminating with the claustrophobia of closing track, "The Last Wave." The sonic openness is still present, yet the unrelenting, ominous tones remind us of our modern predicament: We are still confined; held as if kidnapped.

For the creation of "Crónica de un secuestro," Susana López's primary raw materials were transformed field recordings, humanized synthesizers, synthesized voices, and deconstructed drum machines. This work explores the effects that the combination of these disparate sources can produce in the listener; López's interest lies in the building of immersive experiences. The sounds found within "Crónica de un secuestro" then aim to act as a catalyst for the focusing of consciousness (and the altering of perception). The end result belongs to a kind of magical realism, potentially allowing the listener to escape into a new dimension.

Susana López is an experimental composer, visual artist, and performer based in Murcia, Spain.

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