From the existential trip-hop of
‘Purpose’ (featuring
Ghostpoet) to the choral wonder of
‘It’s A Waste Man’ (with
Aquilo),
Fyfe & Iskra Strings have consistently demonstrated that their collaboration is one of the most visionary sonic adventures of
2022. Today the duo unveil the full scope of their shared talents as they release their long-awaited
‘Interiority’ alb
um.
‘Interiority’ is an album which fuses an experimental hybrid of cinematic string arrangements with twisted electronica production touches. It poses questions about humanity’s relationship with technology and social media, but in a way looks to the future while still feeling relevant to our current everyday interactions.
Fyfe says, “I’d say it’s song-based post-classical music, with an electronic impact. It has melody, theme, and movement. It’s music that’s been knocked around, manipulated and chopped up.”
Iskra Strings adds, “We wanted this album to have a cinematic mindfulness that would drive home the idea of world creating. That sense of expectation and that something is happening creates wonder and otherness, and it inspires us to look elsewhere to something bigger than ourselves.”
‘Interiority’ is released alongside its new focus track ‘Spirographs’, which features Kelly Lee Owens who recently released her acclaimed new album ‘LP. 8’. ‘Spirographs’ is a moment of ever-escalating tension, as it moves from post-classical strings into juddering techno-pop beats and Kelly’s spiralling, ethereal voice. After the eclectic nature of the tracks that have preceded the album, ‘Spirographs’ shows that there are still surprises in store.
Such unpredictability surfaces constantly throughout the album’s previously unreleased tracks. Rae Morris’s fevered voice adorns ‘Origami’ as it sways from broken beats to a celestial ambience, while soundtrack bombast fuels the drama of ‘Egosystem’ and ‘Transmit’. The duo deliver contemplation with equal finesse, especially on the closing ‘An{n}ew’ which deploys moments of near silence as effectively as it does its beautifully plaintive piano.
Physical formats of ‘Interiority’ are available HERE.
While ‘Interiority’ is the first full album project from Fyfe (real name Paul Dixon) & Iskra Strings (James Underwood), their story goes back some twenty years. They met when Iskra Strings was hired by Fyfe’s parents to give their son violin lessons. In most cases, that would’ve been the end of the story – and for a long time it was. Iskra Strings’ career flourished as he worked with artists as varied as Jóhann Jóhannsson, The xx, Vampire Weekend, Sufjan Stevens and Maribou State. Meanwhile, Fyfe’s unorthodox alt-pop earned consistent acclaim from his initial David’s Lyre artist identity to last year’s‘Games’ EP. ‘Interiority’ represents their second project together after the 2019 EPs and compilation album ‘Extended Play’.
Fyfe & Iskra Strings will headline The Lexington on September 28th. Tickets are now available HERE. Their ability to reimagine their music for live shows was evidenced with their stunning acoustic performance of ‘It’s A Waste Man’.
‘Interiority’ tracklist:
