Leit Motif - Vestige (2025)

For the opening release of 2025, See Blue Audio sees the welcome return of one its artists, but with a little twist. Glaswegian electronic producer Fragile X contributed three EPs in his characteristically dramatic and atmospheric style to the early days of the label, and his musical themes of journey and inner discovery fitted perfectly within the See Blue Audio ethos. Now he assumes his Leit Motif guise with a new eight-track album, ‘Vestige’, that expands on earlier releases under this name to create a fully formed and immersive sonic world for the fifty-eighth release on See Blue Audio.

In fact, this is the second appearance of Leit Motif on the label; his ‘Dawn Chorus’ remix of Bagaski’s ‘Spring Prayer’ was an exclusive track on the ‘Shade Rather Than Light: Anthology | Two’ compilation and a joyous celebration of nature. So where does Fragile X end and Leit Motif begin? It’s no secret that they are one and the same artist, but to think of Leit Motif as the more ambient side of the coin would be misleading, even though it was originally conceived as a mix series, ‘Microsleep’, studying the relationship between music and sleep. Rather consider Leit Motif to be one branch of the musical tree that is producer, remixer, Bricolage label head and radio show host Fragile X.

The word vestige is rich in nuanced meaning: a trace, a reminder, a residue, a fragment or relic of something that has been left behind, an echo from the past perhaps. There’s a time-stretching quality to this idea and things may not always be as they seem in the moment. As the artist explains, “This album is influenced by the many thousands of connections we have with so many people throughout our lives, big and small. These connections may be ephemeral and transient, or they may be long lasting and fulfilling. That all depends on the nature of the relationships we create and sustain throughout life, but either way we display a bit of ourselves in each interaction we have and leave behind a trace. A remnant. A vestige.”

Across its eight tracks, this concept is explored and imagined in musical form to superb effect. The trademark Fragile X production techniques of swirling and enveloping swathes of sound punctuated by moments of calm for reflection are fully utilised to create a powerful, at times almost theatrical, depiction of our journey through life. Waves crash against the rocks, the shoreline is weather beaten and battered, but then the heavens open and the light pours down.

There's something timeless and mysterious, even mystical, about the audio landscapes of 'Vestige' as there is with life itself. This is also reflected in the track titles. At times the mood can be brooding – 'Anam Cara', for example – while at others tingling with excitement as with 'Welcome Home'. The beatless aesthetic of See Blue Audio is also well represented on tracks live 'Seva' and 'Roots and the Tree of Life'. As 'Veni Vidi Amavi' closes the album, we're left with a sense of the wonder of life and how we are all just microscopic parts in the grand cosmos of existence.

The meaning of ‘leitmotif’ is a recurring theme in artistic composition and one that could be associated with a particular person, place, idea or situation. This is a pulsating vein that runs throughout the body of ‘Vestige’, but what it refers to we can leave to our own imagination and individual life stories. As a musical offering, this album also suits the mood as we enter a new year, and one that may well be riven with change, turmoil and dissent. May it give you a little respite.

‘Vestige’ is also available in a limited edition compact disc version.

Photography: R.Cleveland Aaron.