Cycles

The world of Cycles is supine and aquatic. Sounds echo within sounds, which encircle melodies like small creatures gathering. As both a record and a series of short films, Haroula Rose and Oliver Hill have created a friendly, multi-faceted planéte sauvage.

Written and recorded in one torrentially rainy week at home in Los Angeles, the music explores the acoustics of the tactile world - sounds coarse and smooth, heavy and light, the smell of wet terrain after a long drought, a long deep breath coming up from dark water to the surface. Cycles presents earthy, bubbling spaces which are womblike and nourishing - not surprisingly, Cycles was conceived and completed in tandem with the birth of their first child. 

Instruments were splayed on the rug and a set of creative constraints were put into place: no words, no drums, no guitars, yes dynamics, yes field recordings around the house, yes fades and slowly overlapping layers. And of course, bells. The result is a series of mercurial and cinematic scene changes - stepping through doors, popping out windows, crossing into and out of interior and exterior settings. 

Haroula and Oliver bring together dovetailing artistic histories across media - as a filmmaker, Haroula’s feature directorial debut Once Upon a River went to over 40 festivals internationally taking home 19 awards, and her sophomore feature All Happy Families, starring Josh Radnor and executive produced by Michael Shannon, saw a theatrical release in AMCs last fall. Oliver wrote the score and original songs - that soundtrack will be released later this year.

The charcoal artwork and vinyl packaging was made by Haroula and Oliver the same week as recording. Please enjoy the record in headphones or however will most immerse you in its three-dimensionality.