An ethereal ode to escapism and a transcendent take on reality.
An audible tapestry of the Ethereal, Circe’s latest EP ‘Drawing Wings From The Light’ effortlessly encapsulates an otherworldly spirit.
Embroidered with escapism, her voice offers a surreal experience, entering a dreamlike soundscape, it feels as though you’re listening to the songs with the sun in your eyes, you’re laying on the grass and you are comfortable. A future version of yourself forms as a silhouette, with indistinguishable features this shadow becomes a beacon of security and support providing welcome shade from the light, you feel solid, more human than before.
Eccentric and flamboyantly authentic this EP explores art, mythology and multi-dimensional forces, acheiving an audible experience unlike any other. Songs that feel like upturned earth after a thunderstorm, like blossoming violets in winter.
The EP started as an echo of what it would become 10 years ago when Circe was still a teenager. Witnessing the boisterous and brilliant, critically acclaimed play Jerusalem by the delectable Jez Butterworth, Circe was transported, exposed to an unexplored realm full of new selves and potential. Riot of Sunlight, the opening track to the EP was written as the first incarnation, becoming a display like ode to Jerusalem.
We are all the Universe, experiencing each other as we experience ourselves, strangers, curious strangers hoping to find a guiding light someone who will bring us back to who we are, or show us how to be the people we are meant to become. We are al mesmerised by a peaceful lake after hours int he dark wood, that once too fascinated us, a journey through the mist, we are all reaching for each other. Perhaps I too am reaching, but this EP touches on that, becoming that journey, a testament to our existence and what we all endure.
Glow offers an orchestral exploration of the soul, leaving us questioning ourselves, we wonder what echoes will we leave behind, if our actions define our essence what should we do and who should we listen to. Here, Circe sounds distorted, a distant voice that borderlines on disoriented with her delivery which makes it that much more divine to digest. Her humming feels like a heartbeat the driving force that guides the listener through an unravelling road she is the halo, the lighthouse we are searching for. A blend of electronic beats and reality epitomises my interpretation of her music, the ethereal fantasy and the monotonous reality, it is a cacophony of what could be, an ode to living happily.
True to her name Circe’s songs host a certain sort of magic one may search for, for years only to find it under a fossilised pebble at the steps their town library a day after they’d giving up the journey. She is hypnotic, offering a kaleidoscope of different perspectives she shares through her sounds.
A stand out track of the EP is ‘My Boy Aphrodite’. Harmonic and deity like this song starts off as a rippling harp until an electronic sounding dagger slices through this illusion of peace and tranquilly, a strobe of reality akin to divine revelation breaking through to Circe’s captivating vocals, she is Zeus in this song commanding attention and power through her mesmerizing voice.
Aphrodite is the epitome of beauty, a beacon of sexuality. Circe discussed that her childhood best friend inspired the song; “a boy that used to wear my dresses and I would wear his suits. Both from nowhere, he saved my life, together we were goddesses, adorned in glitter and smiling faces music to the disapproval of the townsfolk.
It’s also an ode to Bjork’s Venus as a boy a song and phrase that just blew open our baby teen world. Even though we didn’t have the vocabulary at the time, we were working through the sparkly fields of gender and queer identity questions, and the feelings we had about it all – in the safety net of a magical, surreal Bjork song”
Experience the other world at her upcoming headline show at London’s Brixton venue the Windmill on September 21st, buy tickets here Keep up to date by following her socials.
Evolve Music 