Some Viscera, the sophomore release of Lakshmi Ramgopal’s multidisciplinary project Lykanthea, is now available for preorder!
Some Viscera is the sophomore release of Lakshmi Ramgopal’s multidisciplinary project Lykanthea. Appearing on December 13—following the release of the single “Cremation” on November 22—the album forms part of a larger work of dance theater that premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago earlier this year. Presenting a hypnotic blend of ambient balladry, orchestral gestures, and the Carnatic music of Ramgopal’s upbringing, Some Viscera gives new form to the haunting ambient cycles of her synthy debut Migration (2014).
Ramgopal weaves her characteristically raw, emotive vocals and the warmth of the sruti box with the voice of Asha Rowland, strings of Johanna Brock and Erica Miller, and vibraphone of Ben Zucker. Together, they draw on avian and floral motifs from Indian classical dance, medieval Sanskrit poetry, and the literary movements of India’s independence struggle to create an ecological imaginary that transcends temporal boundaries. Over four lullabies and brief interludes inspired by South Asian birds, Ramgopal responds to the death of her maternal grandmother, the births of her nieces, and her own ambivalent relationship to motherhood. Simultaneously self-reflexive, Some Viscera considers its own place in a longer trajectory of cultural knowledge and breakdown. Through the historical and personal, Some Viscera takes flight.
For more info, follow Lykanthea on Instagram, subscribe to Ramgopal’s Substack, and email her here.
Preview Some Viscera below (ideally with a pair of good headphones!).
lyrics: Lakshmi Ramgopal
vocals: Lakshmi Ramgopal and Asha Rowland, with guests Nivedita Gunturi and daughters (#1), Nina Arora-Rowland and Malathi Ramgopal (#3)
cello: Erica Miller
violin: Johanna Brock
vibraphone and glockenspiel: Ben Zucker
#1, #3: written and arranged by Lakshmi Ramgopal
#2, #5, #8: written and arranged by Lakshmi with Erica Miller, Johanna Brock, Ben Zucker, Asha Rowland, and Lia Kohl
#10: written and arranged by Lakshmi with Erica, Johanna, Ben, and Asha
#4, #6: written and arranged by Johanna
#7: written and arranged by Erica
#9: written, arranged, and recorded by Ben
Recorded at Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio, mixed by Lakshmi Ramgopal, Erica Miller, Ben Zucker, and Steve Marek, and mastered by Steve Marek.
Album art: Laila Vaziralli
Album art layout: Bramble Lee Pryde