Vive la Void – Vive la Void
Vive la Void can be intriguing and enveloping if given the time and space to truly immerse yourself in it, but otherwise might leave only a fleeting impression
Across a two-year period in-between touring, Moon Duo co-founder and keyboard player Sanae Yamada spent time experimenting and layering her own synthesiser tracks. Seven of these appear on her self-titled debut album under the name Vive la Void. As the moniker may suggest, it’s something of a meditation on the transient nature of her own life and memories, constantly moving while on tour with Moon Duo and having brief yet striking encounters with strangers.
Unsurprising then, much of Vive la Void is built on waves of synths, electronic rhythms and whirring drones that feel like they’re floating along in a somewhat intangible and almost abstract way. It’s a shape-shifting yet ghostly and ethereal landscape, one where even Yamada’s own heavily reverb-laden voice becomes one with the tones around it. Taken as a whole, Vive la Void feels like an exploration of mood, where each track seems to overlap with each other. Unfortunately, this can also make it an occasionally indistinct series.
Not that there aren’t memorable moments on offer: Death Money’s shuddering and stuttering form makes it pulsating, while closer Atlantis marries together bustling industrial clamour with fluttering, airy melodies in a beguiling tonal contrast. Vive la Void can be intriguing and enveloping if given the time and space to truly immerse yourself in it, but otherwise might leave only a fleeting impression.
Listen to: Death Money, Atlantis