Maud the moth & trajedesaliva | TRS108
The Galician dark ambient project trajedesaliva (Mon Ninguén & unavena) teams up with Madrid-born and Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter and pianist Maud the moth (Amaya López-Carromero), to create a soundtrack to the surrealist painter Remedios Varo’s work. Entitled, Bordando el manto terrestre (English: Embroidering the Earth’s Mantle), the collaborative album will be available on May 5th 2023, digitally from the artists themselves, on cassette from UK label Woodford Halse, and physically in deluxe limited editions via Time Released Sound on lathe cut record and/or CD formats.
“Bordando el manto terrestre is a musical journey around the figure of Remedios Varo, a painter born in Spain in1908, who lived in exile in Mexico until her death in 1963. This journey begins with an ocean-like motion, driven by the ruin of war and exile, and follows, in Mexico, the construction of a new intimate space flooded with light and wonder. This is a path of fantasy inhabited by captive moons, weavers of the cosmos and human gardens, and one in which to recover lost harmony and place ourselves in the world again.
Making use of analog synthesizers, an arsenal of acoustic instruments, and multifaceted voices, both art projects bring their respective idiosyncrasies to the palette, creating a soundtrack riddled with symbolism and references to the pictorial work of Remedios. Like her work, the musical compositions and arrangements seek to explore subconscious associations and exploit the beauty of chance. Many of the instruments used in this album are sensitive to weather conditions or are found objects, pianos, or guitars which have fallen out of tune, providing notes with which to construct invented scales as if guided by the hand of a mystical Hildegardian god. unavena’s poems serve as a narrative structure, which frames the landscapes and territories sonically traversed.
>>> Inspirations & Motifs <<<
In all, the album follows the different stages of psychological maturation, human individualization, and spiritual evolution of Spanish-born Mexican painter Remedios Varo.
>> Trasmundo, the first part of the album, revolves around Remedios’ experience of exile and the reconfiguration of her own identity as a political refugee in Mexico, away from the rise of fascism in Europe at the time.
>> Naturaleza Muerta Resucitando , the second part of the oeuvre, delves into the central themes of transformations and transmutations in Remedios Varo’s works. This refers to the depiction of inanimate objects coming to life, or humans adopting the forms of animals, plants, insects, or even domestic objects. Remedios Varo’s unique sense of humor and her deep love for cats is also evident in her work.
>> Rompiendo el círculo vicioso, the final part of the album, speaks of restored harmony, depicting the journey of breaking through and finding freedom through the power of the creative force. Additionally, it narrates the personal experiences of homelessness and exile, as well as the transformative process of creating this collaborative album (from fear and uncertainty to fruitfulness).” – Maud the moth and trajedesaliva
>>> The Packaging <<<
The limited edition lathe cut record version is an edition of only 42 copies. In keeping with the surrealist concept of this album, each of these has a unique, hand assembled analog collage on the front of its recycled, kraftboard jacket, each composed from cut and torn duotone prints from a 75 year old portfolio of beautiful theatrical photographs from the obscure French photographer, Thérèse Le Prat. On the back of the jacket is an attached, fold open page from a 100 year old world atlas that has had the album credits and info printed on it, and has been “embroidered” on a sewing machine with red thread, after first having been modified by hand with rubber stamps. Each clear record comes in a plastic inner sleeve, and an outer clear poly sleeve. The records have been cut by hand at Bladud Flies in Wales, UK.
The limited edition CD version of this release is an edition of only 40 copies. Each copy comes in a vintage 35mm metal film can. The cover has an attached hi-res print of one of the original collages that come on the lathe cut record jacket versions of this release, and inside are another four rounded versions of more of these collages, one of which has been embroidered with red thread. The cans also contain a vintage black cat bookplate that has been typed on by hand, transparent rounded pieces from antique x-rays, a sheet of sandpaper attached at the bottom, with another image buffed onto it, some yellow netting, a uniquely different hand drawn and colored, strange figurative drawing from an anonymous artist, and the CD itself in a cotton sleeve. Around the edge of the can is a black, titled plastic strip that has been hand punched out on an old Dymo-mite Tapewriter. On the back of each can is a hand stamped print from an old X-ray book.
The standard CD version is in a full color, fold Digisleeve. It features an specially designed mixed-media collage also designed by Colin Herrick.
THIS RELEASE WILL BE AVAILABLE ON FRIDAY, MAY 5TH, AT EXACTLY 8AM CALIFORNIA TIME. IT CAN BE PURCHASED HERE AT THE ARTIST ALBUM RELEASE PAGE…
https://bordandoelmantoterrestre.bandcamp.com/
OR HERE AT THE TRS BANDCAMP MERCH PAGE…
https://timereleasedsound.bandcamp.com/merch
ALL PHYSICAL COPIES WILL BE SHIPPED FROM THE USA, THE WEEK OF MAY 8TH.
>>> Musician and credits <<<
Amaya López-Carromero: vocals, instrumentation and sound design
Mon Ninguén: synthesizers
unavena: spoken word
Scott McLean: additional sound design and guitar in “Perla”
Lyrics by unavena & Amaya López-Carromero
Music by Mon Ninguén & Amaya López-Carromero
Mixed and mastered by Scott McLean
Art direction and concept by unavena
Artwork & design by Colin Herrick
(C) and (P) Maud the moth and trajedesaliva 2023
Licensed to Time Released Sound
