Sara Ayers: Sylvatica

aye-s.jpg (15k) Sara Ayers: Sylvatica
(Dark Wood Recordings - 2000)

I'm pleased that Sara Ayers has introduced herself, and her sounds, to me... an ethereal collection of sonic experimentation like faded watercolor fantasies for the ears, Sylvatica demonstrates, with aplomb, that ambient electronics needn't be a male-dominated genre. Emitting inner magic and a sense of adventure, these self-produced pieces reveal the artist's "inordinate fondness for tiny details over the big picture".

Dense tonal streams flow through Winter And The Sound Of Nothing, over which hushed vocals drift in gauzey breezes. Sylvatica cycles on wispy synthwaves and a continual outpouring of choir-like floes. A powerful and entrancing choral drone surges through Starless, joined by multitracked strands of voice and a ritualistically pulsing bass.

Initially awkward, the stark, disjointedly looping vocal fragments of Flight (3:14) begin to resonate and pile upon themselves; piano chords and half-whispered croon manage to stabilize the unusual structure. A rippling ocean of cosmic tonality, 21 Years ebbs and flows, rises and falls. With a similar motion, but more intensity (courtesy of electric guitar haze) Falling Silent (Crushing Mix) swirls with energy as faint words dance like spirits in the resulting wind.

Dream-like (and not without nightmarish overtones) Are You Coming Home? asks its questions in an unfolding tapestry of intriguing whispertextures, writhing electronics, assorted media samples, faraway guitar thrum and a rich, recurring vocal presence (which, breathing and wailing, sounds to me like Annie Lennox, if I were to make a comparison). A darkly intriguing whirlpool within Lachrymatory spirals ominously capturing loose threads of Sara's harmonious chants. Lighter Soundtrack To An Angel #3 (Excerpt) (from a sculptural installation piece) offers piano notes ringing through the expanding/contracting sheen of a gossamer chorus.

Riding in on a distant rumble, Dream of Noise encounters flute loops, syllabic sampling, sustained guitar bursts and watery rivulets. Quieter and gently wavering, Of The Woods (6:46) is an echoey expanse of shapelessness, awash in abstractly radiating voice-strata, like beatlessly arty pop.

Sylvatica shows much promise for the soundart of Sara Ayers. Though I've missed her previous works, I'm betting these 8.5-rated tracks represent a culmination of artistry and style which will only keep improving. I look forward to hearing more.

Sara has her own website where you can meet her too. You'll be glad you did. We're especially glad that she's been adding her personality to the AmbiEntrance QOM recently.

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This review posted August 30, 2000

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