Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani - FRKWYS Vol. 13: Sunergy (2016)

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith composes bright, fluid soundscapes on a variety of synthesizers, most notably the Buchla Music Easel. Excited by the endless possibilities of electronic instruments, her music is filled with vivid, expressive melodies along with her warped, ethereal vocals. Smith grew up on the serene, peaceful Orcas Island in northwest Washington, and attended the Berklee College of Music in order to study composition and sound engineering. She started out as a vocalist before taking up classical guitar and piano, and formed an indie folk project called Ever Isles. After moving back to Orcas Island, she became obsessed with creating electronic music after a neighbor lent her a Buchla 100 synthesizer, and began recording calm ambient soundscapes inspired by nature. After releasing a few of these recordings online, Smith signed with Austin label Western Vinyl and released the digital-only album Tides in early 2014. This was followed in early 2015 by her first physically released album, Euclid, an adventurous, playful album with much more of a pop focus than any of her previous works. Later in the year, Smith worked on Panda Bear's "Boys Latin" music video and composed music for Reggie Watts' short film Brasilia: City of the Future. Smith's next full-length, Ears, arrived in April of 2016. Slightly darker than Euclid, the album featured an increased presence of vocals as well as woodwind arrangements. Following the album's release, Smith opened for Animal Collective during their spring North American tour. ~ Paul Simpson.