• Holly Herndon @ Spiegeltent, Dublin

    September 19, 2015 - By 

    It’s hard to think of an appropriate introduction for Holly Herndon. Her latest album, Platform on 4AD/RVNG, blends vocal explorations, teasing ASMR and the occasional burst of full-on techno. She’s also got an academic bent to her work, studying for her doctorate in composition at Stanford. In recent months she has been involved in Infiltrate with Love, a fundraiser in support of imprisoned whistle-blower Chelsea Manning. All this might lead one to believe that her performances could carry an air of dry or overly cerebral seriousness, but instead, her appearance at Dublin’s Fringe Festival was at turns playful, dream-like and, put…

  • Holly Herndon – Platform

    June 5, 2015 - By 

    Holly Herndon makes avant-garde electronic music veering between ambient techno and musique concrète. Her sound incorporates sampled and processed vocals as well as acoustic and found sounds. Individual tracks tend to adopt little structure and offer even less in the way of hook or identifiable tune to grab the listener’s attention. That said, absolute attention is demanded by Platform. This is a busy record, an uneasy listen, but an undeniably accomplished experiment, with much reward for those up to the challenge. Like new label-mate Grimes (this is Herndon’s 1st LP for 4AD) the experience is presented in cascades of sonic…