Soda Lite is the musical work of Alex Last, based in Lutruwita (aka Tasmania, Australia). “Vale & Stone” is Last’s 5th full-length release as Soda Lite.
“These pieces were composed over the course of 2018,” says Alex. “Morning is the main time I sit down and focus on music. I almost always begin with a field recording to establish time, space & movement. Sitting with one of my two keyboards (both made in the early 90s, a Yamaha and a Kawai) I will work out some melody, drone or keystone motif which seems to resonate with the field recording.”
“Timbre is also very important – I spend a lot of time ensuring the timbre of each sound element feels organic and complements neighbouring sound elements. Once a base layer is recorded, it’s a matter of weaving in additional sounds; keyboard, tenor recorder, flute, percussion, etc. For me it’s important that each composition unravels slowly, carefully, and according to its own internal logic; a sense of being liquid, airy or lithic, rather than being subject to traditional time signatures or rules of melodic progression.”
“Vale & Stone” connects times and worlds old and new. A vale is a gathering place, where nutrients accumulate and waterways meet. Stone is slow becoming, ongoing link and lithic kin. Reverence for plants, animals and landscapes fuels regenerative possibility in the ruins of this era. Care and nurture underpin all hope of ever looking north to see Vega in Lyra’s wings. Learn (furrow, track) local soils, local birds, local rivers. Foster greens, tubers and fruit for a whole field of memories.
Soda lite is an ocean blue tectosilicate mineral; light in weight, relatively hard yet fragile, and widely used as an ornamental gemstone. Soda Lite is a relative; an alliance of vegetal, animal and mineral beings currently living in lutruwita (incorrectly known as Tasmania). Soda Lite inhabits environments and responds through composition, attempting to relay liquid, sedimentary and circadian lifeways to listeners elsewhere.
Earth tills earth, earth rests upon earth, earth sits at a piano and makes songs of earth, and with every new Moonah, earth dreams of regeneration.
The album is available on Bandcamp:
For more information and music samples, visit innerislands.com