AMN Reviews: Elizabeth Joan Kelly – LF17 / Edinburgh (2024; Mortality Tables)

Sound artist Elizabeth Joan Kelly returns with a three-track EP of airy ambient / electro-acoustic / drone pieces. The source recordings were from Edinburgh, Scotland and presumably environmental sounds of one form or another. They were provided by an unnamed individual for Kelly to manipulate based on her own experience of the city. Thus, LF17 / Edinburgh is a merging of two persons’ impressions of the same locale.

Calton Hill is five minutes of ethereal chording with a slow voice-like melody. The tones are light but with a hint of anxiety. Princes Street Gardens is based on looped rhythmic structures reminiscent of old-school works from Dockstader and others. Over these, Kelly places a dialog between echoing effects and horn-like themes. Calton Road Cobblestones finishes things up with sparse string-plucking and drones. The latter grow ominous as the piece ends.