RESTOCK ARRIVING START OF DECEMBER
Lisa Ullén makes her solo debut on vinyl with this compelling exploration of identity that reflects on notions of being 'in-between'. Ullén's own experience as a South Korean born woman brought to Sweden as a young adoptee feels like an important biographical insert when learning of the conceptual method underpinning the recordings. Heirloom consists of two variations of the same three-part suite, seemingly expressing a duality of experience that suggests there's no ultimate accepted form - as if to say: despite their similarities, things play out differently, neither one thing nor the other, but nonetheless themself. It's a fairly profound idea (and I couldn't help but think of the tricky understandings of self, place and home addressed in Davy Chou's Return to Seoul), more impressive still that Ullén is able to communicate it with such skill. Rare, in fact, is it for such prepared piano pieces to feel so emotionally charged, at times delicately improvised, others gritty and dissonant (as on the remarkable 13 minute 'After Sun' that closes out the first side). The positioning of the self within wordless, non-linear musical expression is a complicated task that Ullén has pulled off with aplomb here, achieving something conceptually rich that's both stirring and cerebral. Bold and impressive in equal measure.
