In Parallel by Salamanda

Seoul duo Salamanda arrive on Wisdom Teeth with their latest and most focused LP yet: 'In Parallel' - a vividly textural and immersive record that brings a new level of clarity to their typically psychedelic, expansive approach.

Since arriving in 2019, the pair - comprised of friends Uman Therma (aka Sala) and Yetsuby (aka Manda) - have been fast at work mapping out their elaborate, dream-state sonic world - prolifically honing their sound across four albums and over a dozen singles to date.

Across their already-extensive discography the pair have established a few key calling cards. Mallet instruments and tuned drums play out playful music-box melodies; thick washes of gaseous ambience invoke otherworldly or ancient soundscapes; buried fragments of found sound and manipulated vocal are layered, giving their otherwise synthetic compositions a warm sense of first-person narrative. Ambient and Reich-school minimalism are the music’s most obvious sonic touchstones - yet the pulse of contemporary club and pop music have never been totally out of earshot.

All of these themes come in to play here - but 'In Parallel' signals a step well beyond Salamanda’s work to date. Since 2022’s 'ashbalkum' (released on Wisdom Teeth alumni Tristan Arp’s label, Human Pitch), the duo have toured extensively: at classical institutions like London’s Kings Place as well as DIY club dens like Manchester’s White Hotel, all via a series of globally renowned festivals like Mutek, Nachti and Dekmantel. Their creative set-up has grown steadily alongside to incorporate a whole suite of new machines, processes and perspectives, taking their music in bold new directions in the process.

The clearest development here is in the duo’s use of vocals - a shift that has been slowly taking place over their last few records, but that comes to a head on In Parallel. The album’s lead single 'Homemade Jam' is the closest the duo have come to writing an all-out pop track: its buoyant beat and autotuned vocals sounding like something SOPHIE and Charli XCX could have written after a particularly potent batch of mushroom tea. It’s a razor-sharp slice of alt-pop that offers a mouthwatering first look at what happens when Salamanda’s sprawling, unbridled creative energy is distilled right down into something concentrated and polished.

At other points their sonic explorations lead them to embrace a more upfront approach to rhythm, skirting closer than ever before to the dancefloor in the process. The meandering drums and vocal chops on 'Paper Labyrinth' are underpinned by a firm 4x4 pulse, while the dembow groove of 'Tonal, Fluid' would feel right at home in a Nick León or DJ Plead set.

'In Parallel' is a record about connection, and the warmth and nostalgic simplicity of friendship is felt vividly throughout. Its title refers to the harmony the duo have found between them as friends and collaborators - and sonic parallels are traced throughout the record as testament to this. Motifs come and go before reappearing at later points: take, for example, the melody underpinning ‘Sun Tickles’, which returns in a different key and tempo on album closer ‘Mysterious Wedding’. Parallel lines are traced between each artist and through their music, linking back to their past and pointing ahead to the future. Only Salamanda know where these will take us next.

𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘭-𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘳/𝘋𝘑 𝘥𝘶𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘮𝘢𝘯 (𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘦𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘺 (𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢).

𝘐𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 20𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢’𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴.

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