Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani releasing the next FRKWYS LP on RVNG

by Kristian Brito

Electronic musician Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has teamed up with influential synth wizard Suzanne Ciani to record Synergy, the thirteenth volume of RVNG‘s awesome FRKWYS album series. Pairing contemporary musicians with their influential elders, the series will see the two experimental artists explore their mutual love of the Buchla modular synthesizer. Prior to the album’s September 13 release, Smith and Ciani have shared a stunning excerpt of the track “Closed Circuit.” Listen below.

A pioneer of electronic music since the 1960s, Ciani’s work with Buchla synthesizers would mark influential ambient releases like her 1982 debut album Seven Waves. Smith, for her part, has been one of contemporary music’s most visible proponents of the Buchla in recent memory, utilizing the instrument on her latest record Ears, which was released earlier this year.

Longtime friends and neighbors in a California coastal town, the two artists recorded the album in Ciani’s cliffside home during largely improvisational sessions. The music draws on both the natural beauty of their idyllic surroundings and the ominous developments that threaten it, from climate change to the encroaching presence of Silicon Valley.

Synergy is out September 13 via RVNG, along with an accompanying documentary by Sean Hellfritsch. Preorder the album now.

Kaitlyn next plays NYC on August 4 as part of the MoMA Nights series. MoMA Nights shows are free with museum admission.