NEY, a self-titled debut, is an unbridled exploration of a band’s beginning, a tapestry of intimate field recordings, deconstructed fragments and spontaneous encounters, pieced together in two long-form recordings.

‘Gestalt der dämmerung (Figure of dusk)’ is guided by Lisa Fabian’s unwavering vocal direction, a fever dream spoken through native tongues of Swedish and German. Fabian recorded her take as a continuous overdub, intuitively responding to the accidental happenings of the piece, heightening the raw spontaneity with her heady rhythmic cadence.

‘Listen to the water’ is compiled as an intricate mosaic of sonic fractions. Here, NEY draw on their evolving archive of field recordings. Sounds made over disparate locations in varied environments coalesce into an interlaced narrative, a carousel of slides depicting intimate glimpses of identity and family. Experiments with instruments are captured in raw and ephemeral forms; distorted guitar is pitched and degraded on reel-to-reel tape, and encounters with harp and key harp are inquisitively documented.

In one of the most arresting moments, a medieval Swedish lullaby is sung beneath a tunnel on the Glasgow River Kelvin during a rainstorm. Fabian utilises the natural echo of the tunnel, layering her bewitching vocals amongst the fluctuating rhythm of tapping raindrops. This scenario epitomises the sensitive interplay between the performer and their environment throughout the record, the pliable narrative shaped by divine instances of fortuitous sonic synergy.