The experimental sound artist claire rousay is readying her a softer focus album for release on May 23rd via American Dreams Records. The upcoming effort finds her teamed up with the visual artist Dani Toral, who is responsible for the album’s cover image, visual narrative, titling, and the creation of a ceramic whistle that accompanies special additions of a softer focus. Additionally, Toral directed, shot, and edited this new video for its third track, “Peak Chroma.”
On the upcoming album, claire rousay continues to collage field recordings and vocals, but the addition of cello and violin, as well as a more melodic approach, has opened up hypnogogic worlds of technicolor dream. “Peak Chroma” begins on an introspective note as a gently glowing tone absorbs the listener into an active calm. Soon field recordings are added to the mix as a sense of serenity gives way to expectancy. Eventually, though, “Peak Chroma” changes course with the addition of auto-tuned vocals and strings from Chicago cellist Lia Kohl.
Toral follows suit with a gorgeous video shot at her home studio. The artist explains:
“The music video captures a balance of stillness and movement with sections of repetitive and meditative motion mimicking a flow state of creation we both experience in our practice. The cohesion of the music video with the album art and audio was very important hence the correlations of the portal-like entries to a dream state which is the feeling we wanted to create in this entire project. This video feels like you’re in a familiar dream, one of warmth and comfort through overlapping and superimposed images of Claire and I working or doing mundane tasks. The Peak Chroma video shares intimate moments of our experience working together, and documents the essence of a softer focus.”
