We Speak Music
Aistis Delivers Masterful Album ‘Clay’
‘Clay’, the latest offering from Lithuanian-Canadian artist Aistis, is an 11-song journey that delves deep into the labyrinth of complicated relationships. Emerging as a companion piece to his upcoming release, ‘Caviar For Seagulls,’ this alternative folk album stands on its own with a powerful blend of reality and fiction, exploring the cyclical nature of love and heartache.
Aistis crafts an atmospheric soundscape where his vulnerabilities are laid bare, showcasing a newfound openness. ‘Clay’ was born during the final stages of ‘Caviar For Seagulls,’ serving as a creative outlet for Aistis to continue expressing his present emotions. The album experiments with song structures and pacing, rejecting societal norms and diving into the rawness of his experiences.
The narrative begins with the introspective ‘Plateau Botticelli,’ which sets the tone for the album’s exploration of personal obsessions and romantic entanglements. This theme is further examined in ‘Thought It Over (And I Think You Should Move On),’ a track that finally acknowledges the need to let go. Yet, just as the listener believes a resolution has been reached, ‘So They Say’ pulls them back into the cycle of returning to familiar patterns. The album takes an aromatic turn with ‘Lilac Perfume,’ infusing a sense of sensuality and nostalgia.
The journey through ‘Clay’ is non-linear, reflecting the complex and often repetitive nature of relationships. Aistis captures this essence beautifully in ‘The Mouse In The Kitchen,’ a hushed lullaby that prematurely closes the curtain with a serene exit. However, it’s the title track ‘Clay’ that leaves the most lasting impression. The piano ballad encapsulates the album’s theme of love’s malleability, illustrating how emotions can linger and change form over time, much like clay being molded and remolded.
Aistis himself comments on the thematic development of ‘Clay,’ noting that the album’s theme revealed itself gradually as the songs took shape. This organic development process adds to the album’s authenticity and depth, making it a relatable exploration of romantic complexities.
The tracks on ‘Clay’ are persuasive and poignant, blending truth and fiction to create a vivid narrative. Aistis wrestles with his place in the world, using his music as a means of understanding and expression. In releasing ‘Clay,’ Aistis offers his audience a glimpse into his introspective journey, providing an inverted conversation of self-development and authenticity.
In conclusion, ‘Clay’ is a compelling album that captures the essence of romantic entanglement and personal growth. Aistis’s willingness to expose his vulnerabilities and experiment with his sound results in an album that is both haunting and beautiful. ‘Clay’ not only stands as a testament to Aistis’s artistic evolution but also sets a high expectation for his upcoming release, ‘Caviar For Seagulls.’
Michele Ducci has unveiled the second single, ‘Woman Like You’, from his forthcoming album and animated film ‘Snail in the Clouds’.
‘Woman Like You’ pairs bright distorted electric guitar with an electronic drumbeat, adding in Ducci’s soulful vocals and a catchy uplifting chorus with Letizia Mandoleisi’s sweet vocal harmonies. A vintage organ pedalboard operated by Ducci simultaneously generates chords, bass and rhythm, like a one-man band. Shane Kennedy (Girl in the Year Above) joins in on guitar. Simon Milner (Is Tropical, Ysing) recorded and produced the track at his 4am Studios in London.
The album and film tell the story of a planet called ‘Snail’, inhabited by hybrids – primarily a mixture between scorpions, snails and humans – who lead a life according to the style of Pythagoras, devoted to music. There is also a cloud man named Agostos, a writer of musical operettas, who together with a talking smoke machine called Doctor Subtilis, begins to kill all hybrids, targeting in particular the hybrid musician Diodoros and his band, in an effort to steal the ark of melodies, an ancient ship that allows the whole planet to survive with music and joy.
The video for the single, created and animated by Ducci and Mandoleisi, delves further into the realm of planet ‘Snail’:
Says Ducci, “The ark of melodies, after various attempts, finally starts to work and fly in the planet Snail, while the shady Doc. Sub. and Agostos, with their platoon of soldiers made of foggy smoke, spy the miracle, planning to steal the ark for their evil and tyrannical purposes.”
About the track, Michele says, “I wrote this song for my love Letizia. Love seen from the mind is the sound we make. Sound is the love of matter.
We used a Technics synthesizer organ from a flea market. I tried to find a mood that was right for the song and I started using the bass of the pedal board together with the synth and the drums, and it was magical to hear the song reveal itself all coming from a single instrument. Leti was singing with me and we recorded everything live in one shot. Then we made Shane do the guitar flight, as if he came out of the window. The idea was to maintain disproportions, guitar thrust and synth drum thinness a la Haroumi Hosono, so as to create an estrangement, but naturally: it’s about how I listen, with close up something that captures me in its nuance as element of a larger orchestra somewhere. I’m glad we decided in the studio with Simon to use the layers of arrangement as the close-ups in the cinema; they look like strange enlargements that perch on parts of a mutated orchestra. I’m happy to come back with this love song at a time when everything seems to opt, even my labor in managing the flows of selfishness that have poured out on me while doing this album, for the sound of war. I’m here happy to be able to say that the sound of love always wins as did for me. Snail in the clouds is one of the most important works in my life and I am glad to start from pure love for this album that is my son.”
The album and full-length film will be released on the 5th of June on Monotreme Records.
Michele and Letizia’s previous musical short film, ‘The Great Book of Nature’, is an official selection for the 2026 Venice Shorts Film Festival.
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