Behind the Music: 'Holographic Prism' by Purl

Inspiration and thoughts behind the making of Holographic Prism

What is the origin of this work? Where did it come from? As an artist, I feel that music flows through me, and not necessarily from me. Though I am the filter that translates the ideas – unmanifest creations – into their manifest form, I am not really their origin, though they would clearly not take on the same shape without me. Some works feel closer to my personal self, and others feel more distant, belonging to a different realm than that of the person. Some feel more elemental, connected to Mother Earth – this is often the case with those belonging to Purl, my first alias (which has been with me over two decades now). Others still feel more ethereal, connected to non-physical realms or dreamworlds, aspects of our collective consciousness.
 
Shaping the sounds that comprise the first two chapters of what was titled ‘The Sky Trilogy’ in some ways felt like picking up faint signals from some faraway galaxy. It was not easy to discern what shapes the sounds wanted to take, and as I kept on exploring over the course of a few years, vastly different versions took shape for each track. I had a difficult time deciding on what versions to release, and since I had created a lot of sonic material for each track (as is often the case for me) I was suffering slightly over all the unexpressed potential contained within the sounds, especially as I felt that I had kinda missed the mark with most of my versions.
 
The idea came to extract elements and share them with some dear friends and artists whose work I love and admire. I believe twelve artists were invited in total, and seven of them eventually returned with ten remixes that blew my mind and touched my heart. Somehow these sounds were now finally making sense to me when experienced through the unique prisms of the artists involved. I was really moved by the experience; hearing the ideas I had set in motion having been so lovingly received and retranslated. The feeling that I had lost my way with the first two chapters was eclipsed by a sense of completion.
 
As life would have it, almost two years passed from when sounds were sent out to the conclusion of the creative process of this third chapter. I want to thank all artists involved for their patience and support along the way. Each of the remixes touched my soul in a unique way and together they form a beautiful diverse whole that feels emotionally congruent (at least to me). I would like to take this opportunity to briefly share some glimpses of my relationships with the beings who shared this journey with me, and acknowledge some of the memories that come to mind...

SVLBRD/Warmth
A long time friend and steady supporter of my Purl project, I have had the privilege to work with Agustín Mena to release several records on his labels Archives and Faint, as well as the honor of remixing his music which is very dear to my heart. Every remix he ever did of my tracks have touched me at the core.
 
Of the records we’ve worked on bringing out to the world, one that left an especially deep imprint on me is Violante (Lost In a Dream); a Purl album that had been living as a dreamlike vision inside my heart for 10 years, the sequel to Purl’s debut Cosimo di Rondò. Agus provided the stability needed for this body of work to manifest. That also ended up being the last time for us both collaborating with a mutual friend who left the world behind: the gentle soul and photographic artist Brian Young. The album is dedicated to him.
 
Lav
Christopher Landin, one of the kindest and gentlest beings I know. Existing in harmony with the natural world, always giving space to every process, and so each of our collaborative works as Lav & Purl were given years to mature organically and they sound and feel like nothing else I have been involved in creating. At one point we also formed the label AMONE together, a project which has been resting quietly since the second release.
 
Christopher also takes wonderful photographs, and I’m delighted to have one of his stunning shots of the Milky Way as artwork for an extended version of the Sky remix by Slow Dancing Society.
 
Slow Dancing Society
“My soul has always known his music.” That’s how I felt on that auspicious day when I first put on a Slow Dancing Society album, tears in my eyes. Drew had written me a one-line email that day (something about the low-end of a Purl album) and seeing his artist name in his email address immediately stirred something within me – like a memory of a different life.
 
Incredibly kind and supportive, Drew has since become a close friend, and he and his family even opened up their home to me and received me as a guest during my last odyssey across North America, just prior to the world shutting down. I’m blessed for Drew and his music to be a part of my life, and I am looking forward to sharing more of the results of our musical worlds colliding...
 
Coppice Halifax
I had been appreciating the work of Brian Grainger already for a long time when our communication in words started. One of the many music friends I hope to meet in person, Brian is as nice and thoughtful as he is brilliant. I do feel that the analogy of gardening is quite apt when it comes to creating music; if I have a modestly sized garden of sounds growing, then Brian is single handedly running a large scale farming operation! Several of his work titles even reflect this theme, such as Verdant Compost, where our sounds would first combine in a pair of Purl reworks of Coppice Halifax’ sonorous progeny.
 
In addition to his music and analog photography (which I am also deeply fond of) Brian does audio mastering as The Analog Botanist, and so I employed him to master the entire trilogy. His friendly and generous spirit infused the project as much as his personal imprint on the audio. Late in the game, a hauntingly beautiful 17 minute Coppice Halifax odyssey of Celestial Entropy touched down to put the seal on the remix album.
 
Deflektion
A timeless moment comes to mind; it is around midnight, and I’m sitting with Olle Hallqvist on a rock by a perfectly still lake with the moon up above. We are participating in a Love Forest festival, deep in the dark Swedish woods, with sounds from the perpetual trance dance floor echoing across the lake being transformed into angelic ambience as they reverberate from trees and the still water.
 
Exploring inner worlds through sound, Olle and I released three albums together as Purl & Deflektion: Growing & Rest In You, released by Dewtone Recordings, and Celestial Bodies, a self release. Creating music (or doing anything at all) with this lovely gentleman is always a delightful adventure where one can be sure to expect the unexpected.
 
Innesti
The music of Innesti has been a healing presence in my life since the early release In Currents stirred something within me. It always feels so natural connecting with this profoundly talented  artist who has been quietly emitting emotionally transformative ambient works for a few years now. I look forward to more opportunities for exploring meeting points between our worlds in the future.
 
Svartholtet
Around the time when I was sending these sound elements out, Herman K. Hulleberg wrote to me expressing resonance with Purl and inquiring about the possibility of a collaboration. Seeing that he had named his new ambient project after a forest growing near his home; a place which he said was a great source of inspiration for him (not to mention that he is also a member of a most lovely pop band called Ludvig Moon), my heart said to send the sounds over to Herman and see what would happen. It feels so perfect to have his spacious and melodic take on Celestial Entropy a part of this project, and I hope to meet up with Herman on my next trip to Norway.

Arij Moka
A continual part of this journey has been a close collaboration for creating the artworks to all three chapters. Arij Moka is one of the pseudonyms of Alexander Lux, a multidimensional artist and most generous and kindhearted soul. I can’t remember where our connection actually began (lifetimes ago in a different galaxy, I’m sure), but ever since I became aware of Alex’ visual work I have been mesmerized. It is impossible to narrow down my impressions into words, but a few descriptive markers would be: intricate, emotional, dreamlike, divine, psychedelic, playful and hypnotizing. It is often a bit on the darker side (from my point of view) and often exploring extra-terrestrial elements (an aspect that seems to form a natural connection to this trilogy) yet, whether they are dark or light, all of Alex’ creations feel like expressions of his soul. I cannot find words to accurately describe their significance to me.
 
Despite the fact that we don’t speak a common language, our hearts seem to understand each other perfectly, and working with Alex I am constantly reminded that what really matters is the love of the process and not the result. I’m continuously blown away by the endless creativity that this hard working family man is able to channel in his limited free time, and I feel so honored and happy to be able to collaborate with him.

I also want to extend a word of thanks here to Zach Frizzell, for always believing in this project and for helping me get all this visual and auditory art shaped and imprinted on physical matter. It means so much to me.
 
So, hearts joined in the creative process of inner discovery (of which every being is a part in some way or other), we continue to go into the unknown, allowing ourselves be opened up to new possibilities and new ways of seeing, being and expressing, and we also get to share our love and appreciation for one another along the way; this is how I like to view every co-creative process, and life as a whole. I’m immensely grateful to Alex, to all remixing artists, and to my lovely friends at PITP who made the physical expression of this work a reality. Thank you all.
 
Now, let’s look up at the stars above and feel what they might stir deep within our collective memory...
 
Ludvig Cimbrelius (Purl)

Purchase at PITP

Purchase at Juno Records

Holographic Prism
by
Purl
LP / CD / Digital
03/19/2021

'Holographic Prism' is the final chapter of The Sky Trilogy by Purl – a three chapter volume of works, exploring collective dreams of celestial origin.

"Every being on this planet lives with the infinite vastness above every day. We call it the sky, and we look to it for beauty, for solace, and perhaps for a moment forgetting about the details of our lives and just taking in the grandeur of it all.

Our collective consciousness contains countless stories about the origins of life and of this realm we inhabit as human beings. Many of these relates to the heavens above, as different cultures have often named the celestial bodies in our vicinity (and some more distant ones) after the gods and godesses of mythologies past. We have multitudes of stories of divine beings inhabiting celestial realms, as well as of advanced alien civilizations inhabiting distant star systems.

I don't know where the sounds and ideas that eventually unfolded as The Sky Trilogy comes from, or what their purpose is. In some ways it feels like a distant transmission that I could not quite receive fully, with missing fragments and unclear parts. By once again disseminating these sounds in order to pass through the unique prisms of the minds of the other artists involved, yet another image has emerged that perhaps is the most true. I am grateful to them all." -- Ludvig Cimbrelius

Credits:
Source material and sound production by Purl
Remixed, produced & engineered by the following:
SVLBRD (1), Lav (2), Slow Dancing Society (3, 7, 10), Coppice Halifax (4), Warmth (5), Deflektion (6), Innesti (8), and Svartholtet (9)

'Selections: Holographic Prism' 12" Credits:
Features five of the ten tracks from Holographic Prism. Edited and mastered specifically for vinyl. This limited edition 12" features reworks by:
(11-A1) Merope (SVLBRD Remix), (12-A2) Merope (Lav Remix), (13-A3) Merope (Slow Dancing Society Remix), (14-B1) Celestial Entropy (Coppice Halifax Rephrase), and (15-B2) Celestial Entropy (Warmth Remix).

Vinyl versions mastered at Black Knoll Studio (NY) by Rafael Anton Irisarri
CD/Non-vinyl versions mastered at White Pillar Workshop (OH) by The Analog Botanist
Artwork created in a collaboration between Purl and Arij Moka
Assemblage, design treatments and layout by zakè
--
© Past Inside the Present
This is PITP26 | MMXXI
PITP.bandcamp.com
pastinsidethepresent.com