A while back, I interviewed Ailise Blake about her most recent release, Soave. Ailise detailed the process of creating this album, the themes she explored, and instrumentation. I’ll be taking a closer look at this incredible album she’s created, so let’s dive right in!

I really love the ambiance that this album creates – it’s a bit Western-y, it’s warm yet slightly aquatic, and it has a sense of arid psychedelia that I can’t get enough of. Having already discussed with Ailise the themes and creative process, I am really excited to dive a little further into the sonic product of her work and explore the pieces that make up this zephyrous album.

“Lustration” is the first track I’d like to delve into. When discussing Soave with Ailise Blake, I noted the distinct polarity of the acoustic guitars being played with, and against, these effects-laden electric guitars. I really do feel like this specific contrast falls right into one of the three words she used to describe her music: humid. These guitars posed face-to-face upon each other feel like a heavy fog, poised low over a blue, forested moor. Her warm-toned voice resonates over a light, gentle piano melody and almost-distant, pounding drums.

The third track, “Consecration”, is one of the biggest highlights of Soave. Its opening sequence is colored by this Western-Americana style folk beat – it’s my soundtrack for wandering a vast, barren desert. The bouncy drums and fuzzed-out, picked guitar melody create this arid, melodic atmosphere – they’re light like gossamer, airy like a dry breeze, and resonate like an echo across a wide moor. The supporting bass shades the melody with a darker, moody tone – adding a cool, somewhat aquatic contrast to the dryness constructed by the brighter, airy guitars. Blake’s hypnotic, tempean vocals are woven into the track, creating this sense of a devotional ballad. Together they exist in a hypnotizing swirl of melody and foundational instrumentation.

“Annihilation (Part II)” is the final track I really want to immerse us in. Though I believe it to be a continuation of “Exaltation (Part I)”, “Annihilation (Part II)” really can be viewed as a sonic opposite in many cases. Where I feel that “Exaltation (Part I)” seems to be incredibly grounding, crashing us back to earth with these semblances of sonic booms throughout the background of the piece, “Annihilation (Part II)” levitates us skyward, to the stars with these tinny twinkles of something metallic, perhaps a triangle or a synth note. Interestingly, I do feel that the surrounding instrumentation feels much more aquatic – almost as if hinting that our annihilation is an aquatic consumption in nature. “Annihilation (Part II)” drops us into this oceanic cavern of sound, surrounding us with these melancholic string melodies and Blake’s enchanting vocals. It really embodies one of the other words from her descriptors of her music: oneiric. Dreamlike.

I really loved the journey that Ailise Blake took us on in Soave. I really adore the sonic qualities that Blake creates and brings into this record. I really was not expecting the Southwestern flavor that we got throughout the album, and I really enjoyed how it played off of some of the more aquatic-feeling moments in songs like “Annihilation (Part II)”. In her interview, Blake mentioned that she wanted people to listen to this album and take the time to breathe, rest, and take some time to think about Death and the end of things – I hope you all take some time and give Soave a spin, listen to the composition and let it direct your thoughts and ruminate on them. I know you’ll enjoy the experience as much as I did.

If you would like to support Ailise Blake and her music, you can find her on Facebook, Bandcamp, Instagram, Spotify, and her website.