‘Trace’ is a masterclass in sound design. Alison Chesley’s formidable skill as a cellist and composer ground the compositions with rich organic sounds of cello and bow. Will Thomas’s equally deft hand-manipulated electronics and keyboards create potent frameworks that bolster the sense of mystery and searching across the album.

Chesley and Thomas’s unique voices as composers remain discernible and present throughout the album, but ‘Trace’ is a celebration of the connection of collaboration with an acute sense of details and the power they convey.

On ‘Trace’, the duo utilize timbre, tone, and dynamics as essential tools in crafting stunning emotive narratives. Together, the duo wield sound with inquisitive aplomb, burrowing into each other’s sonic aesthetics and unearthing irrefutable beauty.

Chesley is an unparalleled cellist and composer who has been making boundaryless music for nearly three decades under the moniker Helen Money. From her work in Verbow to her solo releases, extending to her work as a highly sought-after collaborator with Jarboe, Bob Mould, Steve Albini, Neurosis, and many more, Chesley has remained a singular voice and a pioneer in expanding the scope and perception of the cello.

Will Thomas is an active composer for commercials, TV, and film (‘G vs E’, ‘CSI’, ‘The Haunted Swordsman’). He has also contributed to several of Helen Money’s solo albums and an ongoing collaboration with Roger Eno.

“A grim and beautiful mediation… Alison Chesley is Godzilla on the cello, a virtuoso who crushes all in her path, then slips deep into oceans of near silence.” – Chicago Tribune

“The product of a cellist who has applied and transcended classical technique to music that shuttles between semi- popular and experimental methodologies” – The Wire

“Her creative use of the cello with some sparse accompanying percussion and piano tracks creates an intense and subdued atmosphere that is both somber and delicate, and at times visceral and severe.” – Brooklyn Vegan

Available to independent retailers on Translucent Yellow coloured vinyl.

LP formats include a digital download card.