Auntie Flo likes to keep us guessing and this week he continues his ongoing quest to explore new pastures in the realm of experimental house music with a fresh release for Sofrito Records. Introducing The Soniferous Garden EP.
As is often the case with the Glasgow producer, we are spoilt for sound as he lands an EP comprising of two 14 minute tracks designed to evoke a “garden of acoustic delights”, an “aural space of retreat from the oppressive overabundance of acoustic information that characterises the modern industrial world”. The idea comes from the writing of Canadian composer and environmentalist R Murray Schafer and Auntie Flo responds with a gradual metamorphosis of themes built upon a percussive base that becomes more hypnotic every bar.
Born from an intense 2-day assembly of international artists at the Santuri studio as part of the Ugandan Bayimba Arts Festival in Kampala back in September 2015, the tracks feature the wistful notes of the Adungu (Ugandan 10-string harp), Senegalese Sabar drumming, the vocals of Gio Kiyingi, underpinned by Auntie Flo’s drum programming.
In come Hakim Kiwanuka on the Adungu and regular Highlife World Series contributor Giovanni Kremer Kiyingi on the vocals for the title track The Soniferous Garden whilst for Rainfall On Red Earth (an ode to the vivid reds of the earth around the studio) you can hear the sweet sounds of the talking drum of Mama N’Dieck Seck Thiam.
Listen to the radio edits here: