Ela Orleans – Tumult In Clouds

Born in Poland, and having lived across the world, including some years spent in the New York underground / alternative music scene, singer-songwriter Ela Orleans has a unique and original sound. A multi-instrumentalist, she uses guitar, analogue synth and keyboards, violins and samplers in her unaccompanied live performances, layering looped beats and sampled melodies into achingly beautiful lo-fi pop. On this double LP, she showcases some of her intricate, hypnotic instrumental compositions on ambient opener Jealous Lover, and the understated, menacing Dark Wood.

Vocal tracks like the melancholic This Is and the crepuscular Longing showcase her songwriting talents – with nods to Serge Gainsborough, Tamla Motown and Stereolab, through a lens of scuzzed-up, gloriously static-filled lo-fi noise. The highlight of this consistently excellent release is the anthemic Light At Dawn, where Orleans' plaintive, silk-textured voice slinks up and down the register as dusty, analogue beats and organ swoon in the background. Listen to it in the dark with a cigarette lit and a whisky in hand.