Label Description: When I wrote the original ‘Embody’ EP, it had a function. My desire was to tap into the painful vulnerability we all feel when it comes to being who we truly are. The fears that arise, the masks we wear, the things we project to protect what we inherently are to keep ourselves safe, because who wants to show their true selves and then be rejected? I wanted this record to make the listener reflect on what they need to embody in themselves to be their full potential in motion. So when the remix EP manifested itself, I wanted artists whom I see as true to their calling, who can connect with that part of themselves that isn’t afraid to expose their inner darkness and balance it with their blinding light in the form of sound. And boy, did they do exactly that on this record.

“Embody” was the final remix to be assigned. I had originally asked Bill Nace to do it, but he ended up having a conflicting tour schedule and was unable to. So I knew instantly who to ask next and it was Mandragoro, but I wasn’t sure he’d be up for it. He is quite the enigma. He has been a techno producer for over 2 decades but has done so very quietly, staying under the radar as a producer. I knew his potential to crush this remix, but would he see it? I asked him and he did not hesitate and said yes. I was stoked because Mandragoro is not only skilled at his craft, but his technique is detail-oriented, precise, and thoroughly constructed without losing its heart and soul. He can take the most beautiful noise and refine it into crisp, industrial-blissed techno. His version of “Embody” retains the urgency of the original but develops a resolve that my version only hinted at.

I specifically wanted Valerie Martino (Unicorn Hard-on) to interpret “Paradox”. I could envision her taking this song and making it her own. My version of “Paradox” was a transmission from a primordial muse. So I thought who else could tap into that ancient, raw, hypnotic energy I was trying to translate? I knew instantly that this was Val’s track. What she was able to harness from the Aether is an exquisite, mature, polished, collected, and deliberate track. Valerie and I came of age together during the early 2000s, so I have had the luxury of seeing her musical and spiritual journey over the last 23 years, and this track incarnates all those lessons and years of creating music into a glorious capture of her growth, not only as an artist, but as a woman.

For the Penitence remix, Angel had agreed to be part of the project and specifically asked if she could do this track. I immediately wrote her after it was decided and said, “This song is very meaningful to me, as its what I would say if I could say one last thing to my friend who passed away last year.” She immediately wrote back, “I will make sure the remix gets some empathetic energy.” Angel and I are just getting to know each other, but when she wrote this, I believed her. I knew I could trust her with this exposed nerve I was handing off to her. And I was right to trust her. She took my straight forward, soul bearing lyrics and she didn’t just remix this song. She literally took my words and translated them into the language of the dimension in which my friend now resides, so that he could understand my message. This was a profound full circle moment for me, as writing and singing Penitence healed me to some, but now I’m healed even more, because I am confident the message was finally heard and received. This wouldn’t have been possible without her translation.

The remix of “Litmus” was done by datewithdeath (Travis Johnson / Frolic Press).Travis had been thinking of asking me to collaborate and then I posted “Embody” on YouTube and he reached out to me interested in releasing it via Frolic Press. I was so stoked! When we were talking I didn’t know what kind of collab he was thinking, so I had suggested that maybe he’d be interested in doing a remix of me. He agreed and then suggested we make a whole remix EP. I was so stoked; this had been something I had been wanting to do, and when he said it, I enthusiastically agreed because oddly enough, he suggested one of the artists I had already dreamed about remixing me. I realized Travis is the person who is going to make this happen, and I just have full trust in him to see it through. At this point I start to kind of see Travis as this loving Shepherd, herding his vulnerable and precious flock and bringing us all together. My version of “Litmus” is incredibly stark and very ambient. Travis’s mix is anything but that. It is as feral and surreal as it is stunning. He is the Shepherd who is also a master of chaos, manipulating it and making it perfectly coherent.

I had never met Safie Flato, but Travis suggested him to me as a possible artist to remix a track, and after checking him out I agreed we should ask him. Safie heard the EP and asked if he could do “Recursive” because the lyrical concept of recursive energy struck a chord with him. He told me when he was remixing it, the song resurfaced a deep trauma, but it sparked a breakthrough that completely changed how he viewed the experience and he was able to “reconfigure what it meant” to him. I found this meaningful, and knew then he was the perfect fit for this particular track. Safie did something no one else did. He left my vocals and lyrics untouched, and remixed only the music. By doing that, he kept my vulnerability while transmitting his own through his arrangement.

It was an honor and a privilege to get to know everybody better through this deep level of sonic communion. Many thanks to Valerie, Angel, Nick, Safie, and Travis for their masterful renditions of my songs. Thank you also to Arvo Zylo for connecting Travis and I and your part in the ‘Embody’ releases coming to be. Thank you Angel for the pristine mastering.

—Leslie Keffer

The original ‘Embody’ EP is here: frolicpressrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/embody  

Leslie Keffer
lesliekeffer.bandcamp.com/album/perceive

Mandragoro
soundcloud.com/mandragoro

Unicorn Hard-On
www.instagram.com/valerie_martino/
www.instagram.com/unicornhardon/
u-h-o.bandcamp.com/album/dream-machine

Fire-Toolz
fire-toolz.com

datewithdeath
linktr.ee/6travisjohnson6

Safie Flato
www.instagram.com/safieflato/
signifyingsomething.riverside.com


cover collage by Leslie
mastered by Angel Marcloid at Angel Hair Audio
angelhairaudio.com