Ekin Fil is Istanbul-based multi-instrumentalist Ekin Üzeltüzenci. After the 2011 release of her arresting debut album Language — a stew of synth claustrophobia, claw-hammered guitar figures, and hushed vocal mantras — Üzeltüzenci stated in an interview with Foxy Digitalis, “I don’t think I will make another album all about electronics or I will totally abandon them.” Her self-titled album, released by San Diego-based label Students of Decay, delivers on her assertion, offering us a brightened series of compositions that fuse folk with organic ambience.
The influence of Grouper looms large here: the enveloping wall of delay, the angelic voice ‘verbed into ambiguity, the atmosphere of unease spawned by a spiraling chord structure that never seems to find a resolution. Indeed, an opening slot for Liz Harris on a bill in Istanbul in 2009 connected Üzeltüzenci with the Root Strata label and the concurrently developing ambient-folk scene on America’s west coast. But Üzeltüzenci’s cavernous stereophonic mix contains a tad more detail and tonal fidelity than many of Harris’s willfully desaturated compositions.
“Anything Anywhere” finds synth lines and electric guitar chords intermingling behind a curtain of gentle feedback drift. Üzeltüzenci layers vocal harmonies over breathy melodic phrases as layers of static build around the edges of the mix. By the end, only the vocals remain, lulling us into a heavenly stupor.
Ekin Fil is up for preorder. It ships May 14.
• Ekin Fil: https://soundcloud.com/ekin-fil
• Students of Decay: http://www.studentsofdecay.com
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