{"product_id":"carmen-villain-memoria-pre-order","title":"Carmen Villain - Memoria *Pre-Order","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelease Date Friday 4th September 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAll pre-orders will be dispatched\/made ready for collection on that day.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: Tahoma;\" lang=\"EN-GB\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMemoria, Carmen Villain’s latest album on Smalltown Supersound, begins like an opened valve; exhaling flute chords slowly fill a vast sonic landscape as an invitation for the listener to slow down and enter a state of deep listening. It’s an introduction that guides expertly into an album of decelerated, spectral dub, which shimmers, growls and decays across the narratively ordered seven tracks. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn this regard, Memoria picks up where Villain left off with 2022’s Only Love from Now On, though the current album’s focus is sound as memory—and memories as morphing, non-static imperfections. Repetition functions as memory retold; processing degrades and reshapes sound, and abstraction allows a kind of freedom from linearity. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInspired by Pauline Oliveros’s writings on internally recalled sounds inaudible to others, as well as Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s 2021 film Memoria, Villain approaches memory as both a cognitive faculty and a form of composition, moulding samples from her own archive into a cosmic introspection—albeit one that is the opposite of solipsistic. The album’s inward gaze takes its inspiration from deep listening as a form of empathy, connecting us simultaneously with ourselves and our environment. Recent years working on composition for contemporary dance and installation—including collaborations with choreographer Eszter Salamon and a residency at IRCAM exploring ambisonic spatialisation for the first time—also inform Memoria’s heightened attention to sound as physical space and immersive environment. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMuch of Memoria is built from a combination of new recordings and older archive material. Recording sessions with frequent collaborator Johanna Orellana (flutes), as well as Eivind Lønning (trumpet), alongside Villain’s own clarinet recordings, are fractured and reassembled into a dense but airy sample bank. Visceral human presence (breath, wind, the physicality of air moving through instruments) and harmonic strands of free jazz appear through layers of processing, as if heard from a distance—or through time. Rhythms and textures degrade. Sound erodes. Memories are recast. And melodies, unlike in Villain’s previous releases, are less distinct and make way for other musical leads.   \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere is a lineage that can be traced to Rhythm \u0026amp; Sound, clicks-and-cuts, Pharoah Sanders, Jon Hassell, Actress, and Ricardo Villalobos—though often as abstract qualities: small sounds become big while big ones recede into fine-grained rhythm. Minimalism is key to hearing the details: crackling electronics, inhalation, and sighs reverberate within vast spaces and on a foundation of rhythm. This restraint highlights Villain’s tendency to surgically separate sounds and their ghostly sound-memory doppelgängers according to frequencies. Paradoxically, every artifact, as a memory’s approximation, can be heard with utmost precision. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003e  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFor Villain, memory in sound appears to sit comfortably behind the mixing console of a dub lab, expertly and unpredictably controlling volumes, textures, filters and all other parameters, known and unknown, in an ever-mutating recall. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTRACKLISTING\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSIDE A \u003cbr\u003e1. Labour of Imagination \u003cbr\u003e2. Entre Nosotros \u003cbr\u003e3. Memoria \u003cbr\u003e4. Hope Synapses \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSIDE B \u003cbr\u003e1. Blue \u003cbr\u003e2.Holding a Shape \u003cbr\u003e3. Open Era \u003cbr\u003e4. Omriss \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\u003c\/ol\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThank you for looking at our listing, below are a few points to consider before making a purchase:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- All records we sell are Brand New - pre-orders will normally come sealed but if you are purchasing in stock items, please note the copy may have been unsealed for display in the shop. Please email straight after purchase to enquire if this is of importance to you.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- Orders won't ship until all items are released, so keep this in mind when purchasing multiple pre-orders or a mix of in stock and pre-order items.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- The 'Product' page will show the most up to date info we have with regards to the item and its release date, but this information is subject to change so check in with us if you have any questions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- We unfortunately don't offer tax\/vat outside of the UK via the website so please keep in mind that when the items arrives in your country you may be liable to pay a further charge before delivery. (all UK orders the price you see is the price you will pay). Please also note that we are unable to adjust the declared value on items sold internationally.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Carmen Villain","offers":[{"title":"Clear Vinyl LP","offer_id":55603883934072,"sku":"STS459LPC1","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0348\/2704\/2955\/files\/unnamed_261d9d63-33d9-4e88-961c-a5cf60cc6837.png?v=1784033207","url":"https:\/\/www.crashrecords.co.uk\/products\/carmen-villain-memoria-pre-order","provider":"Crash Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}