Lemures – Lemuria

Lemures_Lemuria

12″ vinyl/Digital Album – Crónica Electronica

This project is authored by Giovanni Lami and Enrico Coniglio, recorded by Miguel Carvalhais and enriched by the charming artwork of Dead Meat. The vinyl edition of Lemuria immediately grabbed our attention with its universe of sounds. These recordings were not made in a studio, but in an abandoned house and have a certain ‘clotted’ quality; dreamy, abstract and essential. The ancient Romans had a broad calendar of celebrations and feasts: Lemuria or Lemuralia consisted of five days of celebration dedicated to the spirits of the dead, the so-called Lemures. However, the term later began to refer to the souls of people unable to find eternal rest because of the violent manner of their deaths. They were thought to spend their time wandering among the living, persecuting them until madness ensued. We are unsure how these historical musings inspired the duo, or if the ritual aspects of the sound are supposed to be dominant. Nor do we know whether the implied sonic realities or the editing and subsequent manipulations matter more. There is, however, a feeling of a fertile exchange between ‘presences’ and ‘characters’ and the generation of a mental landscape that is potentially dangerous; one that stimulates individual and shared visions. This is an imaginary kingdom in which our internal and external worlds meet and merge. The references to “death scenes” is delicate and light without being minimized or exaggerated. Enrico Coniglio claims that, for him, the only possible artistic direction is that implied by the interaction between the performer and the “raw material” of the field recordings.

Lemures – Lemuria