Photo by: Marielise Goulene
They say that music is a universal language, and that could not be more true for today’s album premiere. Hailing from Thessaloniki, Greece, the artist and composer May Roosevelt began as a violinist when she was 12 years old, but eventually picked up the theremin, which she has since mastered. While it is one of the oldest pieces of electronic music equipment, the theremin also can seem the most sinister; you’ll find that is also true of Roosevelt’s new album, Junea, debuting exclusively on Grimy Goods below. It is impressive in many ways, but in brief, it is the dark soundtrack for Halloween that you have been waiting for.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#FF78FF” class=”fistclass” size=”15″] “My intention when composing the music of Junea was to create bright sonic environments and upbeat atmospheres, to shape imaginary spaces of transformation, reinvention and discovery.” – May Roosevelt [/perfectpullquote]
Roosevelt creates a new world inside the layers of synths and other manipulated electronics. One resident of this world is Junea herself, an alter ego of Roosevelt who lacks inhibitions. A theremin takes us around this synthetic universe: to virtual beaches where the sun shines through hazy glitch mirages of the sea like in “Tides,” or to the abandoned ruins of “Be,” constructed from deep bass and metallic panels. Voices warp and overlap in “Flowers” to give the impression that there are many more inhabiting this plane, but by the end, it feels lonely, and perhaps even like it were a distant, half-lucid dream. There are few distinctly intelligible lyrics, and any phrases recognizable to an American English speaker feel coincidental. Junea doesn’t speak in our tongue (or anyone else’s); rather, she lets the music speak for her.
You can pre-order Junea on Bandcamp. For more information on May Roosevelt, follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
by: Zoë Elaine
