Abandon all sense of normalcy: Julianna Barwick is her name but a choir of wordless voices is her music. Well, it has been, anyways. On her EP Florine, the Brooklyn-based performer made a distinct sound for herself by looping her vocals with lots of reverb. With a select few instruments on The Magic Place, her first for Asthmatic Kitty, Barwick has made nine songs that are multi-layered loops of pure bliss—echoes of choirs for contemplating the church of the Self. A language constructed is simply destructive. Barwick is true to what sounds right. With her voice, and without her words, it’s impossible to misinterpret her intentions, and what she sends out into the world. Pure, pure, pure. (Asthmatic Kitty, www.asthmatickitty.com) Taylor Burgess
Winnipeg music & culture since 1989