C.R. Gillespie – Tracings In Honey

Tracings in Honey is an electronic travelogue by C.R. Gillespie, inspired equally by imagination, immersion, and the emotional terrain of both inner and outer landscapes. In anticipation of a trip to Northern Vietnam in 2019 with his partner, C.R. Gillespie created demos that would act as sonic vessels for the experiences and encounters he would discover. On his journey, he gathered field recordings in Hanoi and Hoi An (motorcycles, bustling marketplaces, children, and stray dogs), and the countryside of Pu Loung, Nihn Bin, Phong Na (birds, insects, cave explorations, running water, footsteps). When he returned home he completed the tracks, mixing memory and fantasy of place into a document of the headspace he was in at the time: happy, grateful, excited, and in awe of everything he was seeing. The resulting works sound akin to Cybe's imaginary travelogues, but share cartographic qualities with Laurie Spiegel, Hiroshi Yoshimura, J.D. Emmanuel and Enno Velthuys. More than a sonic postcard, Tracings in Honey is an album that tries to reconcile the idea of a place with lived experience, our personal ways of listening/seeing, and the marks and mirages of travel. Limited pressing of 200 with special artwork and hand-stamped jackets.