Aloonaluna / Motion Sickness of Time Travel ~ Split

Collage is the key word for understanding this release.  First there’s Michael Tunk’s cover art, which attracted us in the first place.  Then there’s the label’s gallery page dedicated to the craft.  Now add the surreal and beguiling art of Lynn Fister (Aloonaluna), samples of which are below.  Finally, consider the split tape a different brand of collage: various artists cut-and-pasted together, joined at the seams, along with their unique contributions, some of which are themselves amalgamations of influences.  Fister is no stranger to the split cassette, nor is Rachel Evans (Motion Sickness of Time Travel); the two were involved in a 4-way split earlier this year, and this is each artist’s third split of 2013.  Each produces a lot of music, but each is also generous with their art.  Evans has also just released a 60-minute mix of her work, free to download here.

In addition to the normal genre tags, the artists have added to this release “adventurous, fun and spiritual”.  While this isn’t a typical combination, it’s a welcome one, lighting a path to an enriching lifestyle like a line of luminaries.  Aloonaluna’s side of the split is playful, as one might expect from her moniker.  On “Apnea Method”, her voice flickers like agitated eyelids while panicked butterflies crash against lamps.  The synthesized “Stutter-sleep Dance” develops a beatless rhythm that bobs and weaves for two-thirds of the track before Fister begins to sing sweetly, “put your hands in the air and your ass on the ground” – but not at all in the timbre to which most are accustomed.  As is apparent from the words, this is music for dancing on couches.  “Shifty Eyes” features pitch-shifted moans and creepy birds, joined by distorted violin: intimations of a dark night.

Motion Sickness of Time Travel blends her three tracks together as “Drawing down the moon / Song of Zenana / Aspecting”.  (Zenana refers to the part of a Hindu or Muslim house reserved for women.)  While it’s extremely difficult to extrapolate a message, one senses that Evans relates most keenly to the spiritual power of womankind, especially as it pertains to ancient traditions in which women held the reins.  Her music establishes a holy, even otherworldly presence through meditative and trancelike elements: the subdued chant, the tender, understated melody.  Her trio of tracks operates as a paean to female empowerment, a miniature symphony of slow, steady encouragement.  “Song of Zenana” is particularly effective, drawing to mind the work of Lisa Gerrard, herself no stranger to global themes.

We return now to that cover (click the label site for the full version).  Is it sexy?  Playful?  Intriguing?  All of these, but also respectful, mature, fun: a collage of impressions and a fitting invitation to the work of these two performers.  (Richard Allen)

Available here from Constellation Tatsu

Aloonaluna website

Motion Sickness of Time Travel website

Michael Tunk’s website (cover art)