Nothing excites Virginia Astley greater than the acquainted comforts of dwelling. Not the late-’70s underground circuit the place she obtained her begin, taking part in gigs at seedy pubs as a member of the new-wave outfit Victims of Pleasure. Not the next post-punk wave both, when she had the chance to file with titans like Echo and the Bunnymen and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Whereas on tour with the Teardrop Explodes in 1981, she performed in a bunch known as the Ravishing Beauties, contrasting the psychedelic assault of the headlining band with opulent melodic sweeps and her uniquely ghostly vocals. The Beauties by no means launched a file (although they did file in John Peel’s BBC studios), however the music they made collectively laid the groundwork for the fragile soundscapes Astley would proceed to discover in her solo profession. Her debut album, 1983’s From Gardens The place We Really feel Safe, got here two years after the tour wrapped up, with a title that makes her desire for solitude abundantly clear.
Gardens was a piece of pastoral theater that infused sprightly woodwinds and strings with recordings from the riverside village of Moulsford-on-Thames, looping bleating livestock and dashing streams into miniature dioramas of rustic life. It will stay the one file of its type in Astley’s catalog for 4 a long time as she explored new modes, incorporating track and poetry into her worlds. Along with her new album The Singing Locations, she returns with one other assemblage of discipline recordings and chic acoustic preparations. She’s lastly revisiting the verdant backyard of her creativeness.
Astley collected sounds for The Singing Locations in varied areas across the higher bounds of the River Thames, which turns into extra rural and sparsely populated the additional it stretches away from the bustle of huge cities. She mentioned in a current interview that she’s typically struck by inspiration whereas on walks within the countryside; strolling alongside the Thames is like turning the clock again to eons previous. Centuries-old church bells ring out; rickety watermills creak as they revolve; Astley’s footsteps can sometimes be heard trodding well-worn pathways. There’s a way that she’s enraptured by the historical past surrounding her as she passes via websites untouched by industrialization and weathered by the passage of time.
