Maya – s/t (Discalcula)

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This curious 10 inch vinyl is the work of New Yorker Maya Hardinge, who was apparently named after the song “Maya’ by the Incredible String Band. It’s a pretty tenuous selling point really, but if perchance that connection has convinced you to listen to this record then you probably won’ be disappointed. Like that 60s group, Maya’ songs have an aura of otherness about them, a quality that makes her voice and these compositions not of this age. Implementing droning strings, vintage synths and eerily disconnected multi-tracked vocals, Maya’ music has a mystical complexity about it, one that isn’ of this world and is hardly plausibly borne of it.

There’ no whimsy in Hardinge’ songs. Sometimes her vocals are reminiscent of David Tibet or even John Balance in the way they glide along notes insistently and rather rigidly at times, with an intensity that never lets up irrespective of volume or tone. In some ways, yes, she’ reminiscent of Nico too, though Maya’ music is more sensual than severe; more pastoral and contemplative than it is punishing. Most importantly, sadness and desolation are the prevailing moods here, and in spite of lyrics like “I was beat down in December / left awash in a canal to die’, it’s the rather subtle instrumentation and Maya’ sorrowful voice that make this EP as enchanting as it is.

Shaun Prescott

This 10 inch is currently only available from www.discalcula.com, and is limited to 500 copies.

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