Raum Daughter

Raum is the collaborative project between experimental ambient musician, Liz Harris, known for her dream-like, emotionally raw work as Grouper and Root Strata label founder and ambient visionary, Jefre-Cantu Ledesma. Anyone familiar with both artists work will find it no surprise that their collaborative work as Raum, whose only previous album was 2013’s stunning Event of Your Leaving, is so affecting, personal and intense. Almost a decade on from the last Raum album, Daughter channels the same energy, but amplifying those feelings even further to create an achingly beautiful, melancholic and ethereal masterpiece. Elements of ambient, abstract, dream pop, classical and drone weave in and around each other as the duo create a wonderfully rich and intense soundscape that feels as much visual and physical as it does auditory. Beautifully sculpted piano loops glide over hazy guitar sketches and muted melodies, all trying to penetrate through the haze of fog, reverb and distortion that encases the entire record like a dimmed, rising sun. The wispy drones and fragmented, amorphous structures conjure the distinct feeling of vulnerability both echoed and challenged by Harris’ ethereal vocals. Added to that are wonderfully intimate field recordings, like birds, distorted human voices, vinyl cackle and the whirring of the motion from a film projector. Each track passes seamlessly to the next, drifting without pause or momentum. The result is a record that feels as haunting as it is meditative and reflective. Daughter is both artists at their distinctive and devastating best.