Julia Holter is a classically trained Los Angeles native who has a thing for the art of the Middle Ages. Her 2011 LP Tragedy is a concept album about the Greek myth of Hippolytus, who was dragged to death by his own horses after he spurned the advances of his stepmother, Phaedra. The album became an underground success, and ended up on many year-end best-of lists.
On the eve of her second album, Ekstasis, released on March 6, Holter has put together a mix for the U.K. magazine FACT (link) that’s mostly field recordings of birds, sidewalks, fire hydrants and radio stations in and around her home. There are also vocal contributions from local L.A. experimental composers like Catherine Lamb, Mark So and Laura Steenberge. It a strange and beguiling mix.
Listen to the mix on FACT’s Soundcloud page.