I really liked Rousay’s aptly-named A Softer Focus. She put out a slightly baffling selection of limited-edition cassettes and collaborations in the twelve months after that release, but this seems to be her first major solo work — and it’s a cracker.
The basic formula is similar: classical instrumentation, electronic ambience, rather domestic-sounding field recordings, and fragments of conversation, all drift in an out of the mix. There’s perhaps slightly more emphasis on the ‘real’ instruments here, ranging from a studied modern classical chamber feel on the violins to beautifully naive melodies on piano or harp. The whole thing has a loose, dreamlike feeling, which is almost intoxicating at times. I think I like this even more than the last record. It’s effortlessly charming, and about the only thing I don’t love about it is the way it just kind of stops after just half an hour.
I bought this from Boomkat. They call it Modern Classical / Ambient and, puzzlingly, Documentary.
dogrando writes about some records 