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Voice Leading

by Kellarissa

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Pressed in Vancouver, BC at Clampdown Record Pressing. Limited to 100 copies!

    Live in Vancouver? Purchase Voice Leading here to skip the shipping fee.

    Local pickup at Red Cat Records, and get 10% off purchases when you come to pick up your pre-order.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Voice Leading via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 CAD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    12" Vinyl of Voice Leading. Pressed in Vancouver, BC and limited to 100 copies.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Voice Leading via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $25 CAD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $8 CAD  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Voice Leading by Kellarissa CD

    Includes unlimited streaming of Voice Leading via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9.99 CAD or more 

     

1.
Exposition 04:34
Shadows, bodies. Shadows, bodies. You ignore me. I can’t tell you why. I can’t tell you. I’ve only known desire. Desire.
2.
Desire Path 02:43
Why can’t time fly as the crow flies? All the learning and pain you could pass by. Callous and carefree; will you get what you need? Bothered and busy; you’ll fulfill your destiny. Passive aggressive; push away your best friends, Constant erosion; am I a bad person? Like being gay, or drinking all day, you have to learn the hard way.
3.
Anemoia 04:01
Nobody in the world knows where I am right now. I came here by myself although I’ve never been to this town. I’m feeling a nostalgia for a place I’ve never been, Or maybe it’s a different time, another life, already seen.
4.
“I was the shadow of a body that ignored me; I was also the source of light that produced that shadow. All that came back to me was a projection of myself.” I looked behind to see Reverse reality Is it what I perceive or make believe? Why am I watching her watch me? Surroundings melt away New feelings take their place We realign our notes in harmony This interaction is too brief Why can’t we look away? Reflections start to fade It might be time to face our double being Mind without body is free
5.
I am a bad influence Twisting your arm, dulling senses Pulling so near you lose perspective tearing down all of your defences Come over here, Let’s stay up late Wanna get drunk on our first date? We can get hooked on this fixation We will fall under its persuasion Bad influence… You are the one I can’t resist You are the one who will persist Maybe it’s all at my expense How will I gain experience? (You are a bad) Bad influence, etc.
6.
Sphinx 05:15
Tell me a lie Why can’t you look me in the eye You just pretended to be shy With the innocence of desire Choice is a mirage Did I imagine this visage ‘Cause I look better than I feel Because this agony is real And I can’t even cry A sphinx can never cry I wish that I could be A silent sphinx eternally And I can’t even cry God knows how I try A sphinx can never cry And a sphinx can never die
7.
Is it for you The Larks sing loud, The Leaves clap hands, The Lilies nod? Do they forget The screams so wild Heard all the night -- Where is that child?
8.
Dread 03:14
Lost control takes a toll A thread of this feeling of dread {hmmm} I’m distraught Strings of thought Taut, strung together Knots in my centre Overwhelmed, I will dwell It comes in waves, the fear pervades Lost control takes a toll A thread of this feeling of dread I’ve been dealing with
9.
If I wish this away Push it out of my mind It could be the way To put it behind I’ve been forced to wait I’ve been tempting fate Edges start to fray Patterns are undefined Ponder all of the ways I’ll lose in order to find I’ve been forced to wait I’ve been tempting fate As soon as you decide against Wanting it it’s not so hard Knowing it’s not in your cards Playing fast and loose with the stars I’ve been forced to wait I’ve been tempting fate
10.
After Hours 03:32
There was a time when day became night And night became day. Identical in the dark continuum It goes on There was a place around here without a name Hide our shame. After hours, we became new visions Of our same selves. (After hours) Our same selves, our same selves.
11.

about

Kellarissa offers redemption to lost souls who find themselves searching for meaning in dark places. Voice Leading, her fourth full-length album with Mint Records, is a vulnerable, self-realized ode to female desire, regret, shame, self-compassion, and cautious healing.

Kellarissa (Finnish for “in the basement”) is the solo moniker of synth-pop artist Larissa Loyva, whose two-decade-long output of exacting pop music also includes her critically acclaimed collaborations with Nicholas Krgovich in the chamber pop band p:ano, synth-pop duo Fake Tears, early pop-choir ingenues The Choir Practice, as well as stints as a touring member of How to Dress Well and Destroyer. She is best known for layering vocals and synthesized sounds, and for making abstract themes relatable through her daring, driving synth-pop.

Kellarissa produced Voice Leading during lockdowns and times of uncertainty, allowing her to explore her psyche through her music: “Creating in this vacuum had a wild effect on me, had me constantly questioning my own abilities. My imposter syndrome was off the charts at times. But I pushed myself to continue writing and recording, and to face the effects my drinking and pent-up mental anguish had on my creativity and sense of self…it gave me the perspective to discover areas in which I needed help and healing in my life.”

Although the album was self-produced and recorded, Kellarissa enlisted the help of Jesse Gander (Japandroids, The Pack a.d.) and Jeff Cancade (Devours, The Golden Age of Wrestling) for final mixing touches, and the record was mastered by Ryan Morey (Daniel Romano, Yves Jarvis). The result is a saturated sonic tableau of cinematic synths and soaring crystalline vocals, artfully produced synth-pop that can be placed with the likes of Perfume Genius as well as more idiosyncratic producers like Laurel Halo.

Voice Leading is Kellarissa’s most conceptual record yet, situating listeners in an enigmatic hall of possibility. References to Anne Garreta’s 1986 Oulipan nightclub novel Sphinx are woven throughout the album. On “Bad Influence” and “After Hours,” cerebral synth-pop turns are inflected with the savvy dance energy of nineties iconoclasts like Björk and Pulp. Synth-driven title track (and lead single) “Voice Leading” flirts with affairs of the mind and the agony of not knowing. There’s a scenario Kellarissa can’t quite put her finger on in “Anemoia,” where déjà vu is veiled by anxiety and dread: “I’m feeling a nostalgia for a place I’ve never been.”

Creating this record was Kellarissa’s antidote for challenging times. With Voice Leading, she is able to take the infinite depth and formlessness of the club and give it edges, corners, a pulsating shape that plumbs the dark spaces hollowed out by yearning, restraint, and despair in an attempt to crack the enigma and let in some light.

credits

released April 1, 2022

Music, Lyrics, & Recordings by Larissa Loyva
Produced and Mixed by Jesse Gander & Larissa Loyva at Rain City Recorders
Additional Music and Production on "Bad Influence" by Jeff Cancade
Mastered by Ryan Morey Mastering

"Exposition" and "Voice Leading" spoken word parts are used with permission and are taken from the book Sphinx, © 1986 Anne Garréta, English translation by Emma Ramadan © 2015 Deep Vellum Publishing

"Sphinx" is a reinterpretation of "The Sphinx" by Amanda Lear & Anthony Monn with additional music and lyrics by Larissa Loyva

Artwork and Layout by Stephanie Kuse
Photo by Laura Harvey

This music was created on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC) and of the Penelakut, Hwlitsum, and Tsawwassen First Nations (Galiano Island, BC).

This album came together with the invaluable help and input of my Mint Records friends and family: Randy Iwata, Adrienne LaBelle, Ryan Dyck and Elysse Cloma, and the professional assistance of Jesse Gander, Stephanie Kuse, Ryan Morey, Kim Koch, and Laura Harvey. Thank you to Dayna Szyndrowski at LEÑA Artist Research and Residency Centre for providing a beautiful space in which to create.

Much love to my partner Jonelle Aspa, and to my friends Sam Macklin, Jeff Cancade, Laura Barrett, Milenko Vujosevic, and Bradley Kurushima - thank you all for listening to me as well as my music. Much gratitude to Anne Garréta, Emma Ramadan, and Amanda Lear for inspiring these songs.

This project is funded in part by FACTOR, the Government of Canada and Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

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about

Kellarissa Vancouver, British Columbia

Kellarissa is Larissa Loyva. Moody, intelligent experimental pop featuring layered voices and synthesizers. On Mint Records since 2008.

New album Voice Leading is out April 1st 2022.

Past member of p:ano, The Choir Practice, Fake Tears; touring member of Destroyer & How to Dress Well.

Also available:
-Ocean Electro (2018)
-Moon of Neptune (2011)
-Flamingo (2008)
... more

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