Miamisphere EP by Lorna Dune

Lorna Dune’s journey through sound - and arrival at the music on the "Miamisphere" EP - has been a rather unique one, and not one you’d expect to culminate in one of the most interstellar cosmic techno 12“s in recent memory.

Lorna Dune is the stage name of Lorna Krier, a virtuosic performer of "New Music" (think: classical music that is still being written), particularly in the Minimalist tradition, serving as a founder of several chamber style ensembles and a keyboardist/synthesist in numerous Brooklyn-based electronic music bands/collectives/groups of people making sound together.

Her work with composer Missy Mazzoli in the quintet Victoire on the record "Cathedral City" was named "One of the top 10 classical albums of 2010" by NPR and "one of 2010 most memorable albums" by The New Yorker magazine. She has worked extensively with composer & visual artist Tristan Perich, has performed Steve Reich‘s music for Steve Reich himself, has joined the Philip Glass Ensemble as a keyboardist in the past, as well as appearing on stage at the Whitney, MoMA, New Museum, Carnegie Hall, Millenium Park, and more throughout the US, Canada, and Europe.

While obviously rooted in the sound of techno (Lorna admits to a deep infatuation upon the discovery of the heavier side of the form—maybe particularly with the sounds of Stephan Bodzin and Andy Stott—in the years before this EP was written), Miamisphere manages to incorporate many of the structures and harmonic motivations that inform so much of the Minimalist tradition. On first listen, it sounds like a collection of amazing dancefloor anthems, but closer inspection reveals a depth of composition that is quite difficult to find in the interlocking worlds of techno, house, and other such forms. From the swooping synths and rapid arpeggiations of evolving chordal forms on the opener, "Plasmodium", to the basically surefire hit of "Agnes Day" and the acid-influenced, lower-BPM, but perhaps even more complex tonal range of "Miamisphere", the uplifting and emotional content of the music—not just sound—squeezes through.

Closing with a vintage "stoner house" remix by NYC‘s mysterious Terekke (L.I.E.S.) and issued on NIHITI‘s lo bit landscapes imprint, imbued with a sense of mystery that is equal parts "Dune" mythos and new Brooklyn scene, "Miamisphere" is not the kind of record you are likely to encounter often in your travels through electronic music.

“An experimental keyboardist who is happy to go wherever her heart and ears tell her, redefining genres along the way, Lorna Dune inhabits a world of her own, and it’s a glorious thing to behold.”
– Red Bull Music Academy

lornadune.com
lobitlandscapes.org
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