The prolific, multi-aliased producer on life-changing impact of a song by Yumi Arai
The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!
Ludvig Cimbrelius is a versatile Swedish musician known for his expansive and emotive soundscapes across a wide range of aliases, each reflecting a unique aspect of his artistic vision. Perhaps his best-known alias, Purl, focusses on music that evokes the serenity of nature, while Illuvia explores ambient jungle and drum & bass realms. Eternell delves into meditative and ethereal compositions, and Abraço de Vapor delves into deep, immersive soundscapes. Other aliases include Alveol, Ziyal, and Surr, showcasing his wide-ranging talent across ambient, electronic, and cinematic music.
Released back in June, his latest album as Illuvia Earth Prism is a masterpiece, and one of my favourite LPs of the year so far; an escapist joy with atmospheric pads and lush melodies combined with lo-fi drums filtered almost out of existence. Ideal listening for anyone who misses the glory days of ‘intelligent’ drum and bass but doesn’t have the energy to go out raving anymore.
For his One Track Mind selection, Ludvig has picked out supremely joyful track that never fails to bring him to tears.
Ludwig Cimbrelius on Yumi Arai – ひこうき雲 / Hikouki Gumo
Struck by the utter impossibility of selecting one song in any category without feeling like it was arbitrarily chosen among at least a dozen others that, in their magnificence or emotional impact on me, all belong in the category of “nothing compares,” I realized I had to find some way to narrow it down. I couldn’t submit this without at least mentioning the life-changing impact of musical creations by TOOL, Kate Bush, Robbie Basho, Stars of the Lid, Brock Van Wey, and many others. However, when diving into the process of choosing, I felt like I had to find a song that somehow stood out alone from all the rest. Maybe I was taking this too seriously, but what can you expect when you ask someone who cares more about music than life itself to select one song that is meaningful to him for whatever reason?
After some days spent lost in the endless clouds of music, I was surprised and delighted when clarity suddenly arrived in a flash of memory. Immediately, I knew with total certainty which song was my one song. As I am typing this, I realize it may be wise for me to already mention to the people near and dear to me that this is the song I want played at my funeral (thank you for the prompt, Greg!).
“Hikouki Gumo” apparently means “Vapor Trail,” and as much as I would like to learn Japanese to better grasp the nuances in these lyrics, the various English translations out there more than suffice to convey to my heart what this song is about. Yumi Arai (the artist) apparently wrote it in her teenage years for a friend who left this world at a young age. There are few songs that succeed in being supremely joyful while also always bringing tears to my eyes—tears that are not just of joy, but perhaps both joy and grief, or of feelings you can’t ever find the words to explain. But yeah, this is it for me. This is my one song.
Illuvia – Earth Prism is out now
https://astrangelyisolatedplace.bandcamp.com/album/earth-prism
The Predatory Wasp 