Portland-based drone/shoegaze/noise project FOLIAN premieres 2nd track ‘Beau Ideal’ from upcoming EP “Mimicking Nothingness”, out on 15 July via the architect D. Fylstra’s own imprint Anima Recordings.
Formed by the musician D. Fylstra, FOLIAN merges elements of drone, shoegaze, metal, pop, and experimental noise, as well as visual transmissions, to create a uniquely contemplative and cohesive sonic experience. Fylstra often records and performs solo, but the project has recently included collaborators.
In a statement about FOLIAN‘s newest track, D. Fylstra said “there’s sort of two elements to this. The song began to take form during the start of quarantine in 2020, the same week that public outrage over George Floyd’s murder swept the streets. It was an intense and emotional experience, and this music naturally embodied the feeling of physically and presently being at war with an unjust and racist system.
There is a recording layered into this song of police sirens and explosives that my friend and collaborator Dylan Garrett Smith provided, captured on the streets of downtown LA. Fast forward to revisiting the track in 2022.
The isolation and contemplation of the pandemic had invited an incredible amount of self-reflection and contemplation over personal boundaries and identity. I tapped into the firm and assertive energy that this song conveyed, and completed it, allowing it to act as a statement in regards to claiming space and being grounded in a world that seems to often push back and resist embracing such personal truths.”
“Mimicking Nothingness” explores the idea of becoming less than you believe to be expected to become, and the refusal to fulfill an assumed form in the eyes of others.
The EP was recorded at home mostly during the quarantine of 2020 and finished in recent months. It was mastered by co-collaborator and Canadensis bandmate, Tom Asselin. The cover of the album is an illustration by Portuguese artist CVSPE.
The title comes from a quote by Sylvia Plath: “I am afraid. I am not solid, but hollow. I feel behind my eyes a numb, paralyzed cavern, a pit of hell, a mimicking nothingness. I never thought, I never wrote, I never suffered. I want to kill myself, to escape from responsibility, to crawl back abjectly into the womb. I do not know who I am, where I am going – and I am the one who has to decide the answers to these hideous questions.”
FOLIAN’s debut LP “Blue Mirror” ( Anima Recordings) is a follow-up to the EP “Ache Pillars” (Apneci Void Sounds). Fylstra is a participant of various projects including Canadensis, Flood Peak, Ramprasad, KVØID, and is a recent collaborator with A Stick and A Stone, The Stargazer Lilies, and Drowse. They’ve shared the stage with a diverse range of acts, such as Amulets, Claire Rousay, Zeta, Michael Stein, Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Leila Abdul-Rauf, Sutekh Hexen, Eric Schlappi, and more.
West Coast Summer Tour w/ Canadensis (D. Fylstra’s spacey ambient/post-rock project with Tom Asselin):
6/17-21 Pe Ell, WA @ Red Hawk Avalon (Litha Cascadia)
7/01 Sacramento, CA @ Musiclandria ^
7/02 Grass Valley, CA @ Unchurch ^
7/03 Las Vegas, NV @ Lotus House
7/04 Las Vegas, NV @ Huntridge Tavern
7/06 Tucson, AZ @ Groundworks *
7/07 El Paso, TX @ Love Buzz =
7/08 Tempe, AZ @ Palo Verde *
7/10 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants
7/12 Ventura, CA @ All Kinds Studios ≠
7/15 Oakland, CA @ Redwood Ridge
7/16 Arcata, CA @ Richard’s Goat
7/18 Portland, OR @ The Fixin’ To +
Follow FOLIAN on:
Facebook | Bandcamp | Website
For CVLTARTES PR services and offers drop us a line at: cvltartes.pr@gmail.com
Nicoleta Raicu
Latest posts by Nicoleta Raicu (see all)
- Review of ‘In Knots’ by FARI and Her Promising Future Ahead - September 26, 2024
- A Fusion of Country, Trap & Hip-Hop: On Steve Ray Ladson’s Latest Single - September 26, 2024
- Listen to Jodi Heights’ Take on the Classic The Beatles’ single ‘Blackbird’ - September 26, 2024