Clarice Jensen - In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness *Pre-Order

Clarice Jensen releases her fourth solo album, In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness, on 17
October 2025 via FatCat Records’ 130701 imprint. The new album showcases Jensen’s distinctive
compositional approach, in which she improvises and layers her cello through shifting loops and a chain
of electronic effects, exploring a series of rich, drone-based sound fields. Pulsing, visceral and full of
colour, her work is deeply immersive, marked by a wonderful sense of restraint and an almost
hallucinatory clarity.
Having made a solo move to the Berkshire Mountains in upstate New York in September 2020 after

years living in Brooklyn, Jensen found herself confronting and enjoying a newfound solitude as the non-
stop movement and collaboration of city life had come to a standstill. The first LP she made post-move,

Esthesis, is largely devoid of cello, synth heavy, and examines emotions in a self-conscious way from an
isolated point of view that is nearly one-dimensional.
Jensen sets new parameters for this new album, placing the acoustic sound of the cello at the fore, and
affecting the sound only through a few effects (octave displacement, delay, tremolo and looping). “It felt
necessary to return to the rich acoustic sound of the cello that I've loved and produced for nearly my
entire life, and to return to an expression of emotion that's multi-dimensional and sincere,” she notes.
As a soloist, Jensen endeavours to establish a new tradition of solo cello performance that integrates
electronics with the storied and beloved performance practice intrinsic to the instrument. She places
great importance on finding and working with effects pedals that integrate well with the cello (and avoids
overt use of plugins or playback).
The solo cello works of J.S. Bach as a central backdrop to this new album. Bach’s Solo Cello Suites
display a rich range of voices created by one instrument. Having found ways to expand the sound and
voice of the instrument through electronics, Jensen found it fitting to return to Bach's works as a way to
touch back in with the tradition of the instrument.
“... what steps forth, in holiday clothing, out of the great darkness."– Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young
Poet
As a composer, Jensen insists that the programmatic elements of her albums align and ring true. She
writes that, “the quote from Rilke had been bouncing around my mind for many years; the visualisation of
musical ideas being born and echoing inside a ‘great darkness,’ then emerging ‘in holiday clothing’ felt
very beautiful and tangible, and this essay, which to me is a manifesto in celebration of solitude, depicts
what so many artists and composers experience when they endeavour solitary work. This album
reflects a personal and conceptual exploration of what solo means.”

Tracklist
01. In holiday clothing, out of the
great darkness Part 1
02. From A to B
03. 2,1
04. 1,2
05. In holiday clothing, out of the
great darkness Part 2
06. Unity