Monday 2 November 2015, 8pm
Return to OTO for guitarist, singer and Grouper collaborator, Ilyas Ahmed, with support from R Elizabeth – aka London-based artist, Rachael Finney.
“Ilyas’ music is in service to dream investigation, at once still and impermanent as an August cloud and then sweeping like a strange breeze through your thoughts. I Am All Your Own will wrap you in serenity but is aware that any second now you may escape. Music of a sweet morning, and unforgettable.” – Thurston Moore
“Ilyas Ahmedʼs songs exist in a sublime moment of suspended animation, calmly dwelling in between modes of music making both timeless and contemporary – deeply imbued with stillness and peace” – Immune Recordings
Ilyas Ahmedʼs songs exist in a sublime moment of suspended animation, calmly dwelling in between modes of music making both timeless and contemporary – deeply imbued with stillness and peace. On I Am All Your Own, his first album in three years, Ahmed employs strategies gleaned from experimental and ambient musicians, such as Lawrence English and Fripp & Eno, and applies them to song-based guitar music. Building slowly and purposefully, each individual track adds to the albumʼs overall, scrupulously-forged contour. His most direct work, Ahmed’s voice is brought to the fore and unobscured. Like the best work of his friend and collaborator Liz Harris (Grouper), as well as classic touchstones such as the Velvet Undergroundʼs self-titled third album and David Crosbyʼs “If I Could Only Remember My Name,” Ahmed’s latest is sentimental and emotive, while remaining hushed and understated. I Am All Your Own is a record for late nights and early mornings, those times spent in solitude and reflection.
R Elizabeth is the side project of London based artist Rachael Finney. Although connected to her studio practice R Elizabeth sees the artist exploring her interest in magnetic tape and voice from a different point of entry. Working somewhere between experimental electronics and pop music R Elizabeth often creates melodic hooks via a combination of tape collage and repetitive organ, layering low placed vocals that aim to present a continuous chorus.
Previous releases include ‘Mirror’ on Cazenove and last year saw the release of ‘Season on Error’ onWhere To Now? 2017 will bring a new album out on Home Normal.
