snd.rtrn presents: Xicada / Interastral Communications EP Release

After a period of rest we return with full force.

We are excited to share that we will be hosting our long-time friend Xicada's EP release show on November 20th! Xicada has long been an exemplary visionary within the local scene, a voice of wisdom and support for those around her. Known for her eclectic, propulsive, genre defying sound, local mainstay Xicada has produced a magnificent work of art, soon to be released on November 20th by Italian label, Sounds of Paimon.

Xicada's live set will be joined by:

Trailcam
Anise
Xodkaar b2b Prayer
Stow b2b Ester Shiner

An eve not to be missed .

November 20th
961 College / the jama
10PM - 4AM???
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When synchronicity or hyperstition hit, they feel like a message from beyond. They break with the illusion of time. Lacking a measurable causal connection, events occur in a manner that seems to be triggered by a body of intentions traveling backwards. Past, present and future collapse and the one, infinite cosmic moment of immanence is unveiled. It’s an inscrutable phenomenon that reveals the limits of the human mind to comprehend the universe, but also its potential to recontextualize perception and events to extract meaning, be it personal or collective.

Interastral Communications is one such attempt. An incursion into temporal loops, past reflection and future shaping, made through music based on repetition and difference. Toronto-based producer Ilyse Krivel constructed this new chapter in her work as Xicada by balancing intricate, heavy beats and soaring drones, combining robotic insistence with soulful psychedelia. The album is her debut release on Sounds Of Paimon and, in her intentions it should function as a sanctuary within the technosphere. At times, it feels like accelerating to lightspeed, to leave this plane of reality in search of a healing force.

At its core lays a reflection on personal struggle of the creative and existential kind, and it’s conveyed through Krivel’s own voice, as well as those of guests Eyin Sof and Y. F. Tamashi. For the title track, she turned words from old entries in her personal journal into lyrics, envisioning this as a kind of retroactive healing process, as if she was helping her old self realize herself in the present. She went through it by channeling a vast number of distinct musical continuums within rave music to shape something that goes beyond genre conventions, but still showcasing every segment of its complex DNA.

Frantic breakbeats, fast kicks that can lean on the distorted side, drilling synth arpeggios, kaleidoscopic pads and ethereal vocals… Elements of genres that now feel far but still bright and visible, like the distant stars the album is reaching for. As puzzling as it can feel to discover music that is so daring, Xicada manages to make her sounds also feel comforting and invigorating. It’s like an inversion of transcendence, dreaming of a way to bring the cosmos closer and sew back the rip between life and infinity.