Lela Amparo – "Keep Your Soul Young"
"The Contrasts of Places I've Travelled Made Me Appreciate My Roots"
Lela Amparo's album, "Keep Your Soul Young", is a dazzling musical journey. Based on her brilliant ambient guitar work, she built ten songs that couldn't be more diversified and playful. She weaved the pieces thoughtfully by blending IDM and trip-hop rhythms with enchanting orchestral arrangements and subtle, intense vocals.
The work (her first one with Past Inside The Present) reflects Lela's diverse influences—from her roots in the American Southwest to the artist's international travels and current home in Gothenburg, Sweden. This worldly perspective infuses the record with a unique blend of cinematic grandeur and intimate tenderness. You could say it's a very cosmopolitan record—well-travelled and filled with influences from all parts of this beautiful planet.
Here is what Lela says about her album and her personal creative journey:
"The contrast of places I've experienced has made me truly appreciate my roots in retrospect while also allowing me to carve out a new space in the world and to feel an essential continuity between the two."
The opener, "Space Us Out", sets the wheels in motion with its synthesized strings and gripping low-end kick pattern, creating an expansive, emotional atmosphere. "You Say You Love" combines harp and choral voices with a bouncy two-step rhythm equally suited to both worlds: The crowded club dance floor on a Saturday Night or a nice relaxed walk in the park.
Dreams and moods & spoken word
"Rose & Honey" introduces Lela's dulcet vocals through a spoken word passage inspired by her time in Tokyo, while "Wrong Thing" stands out with its Burial-esque hyperdubby rhythm and vaporous, pitch-shifted vocals. With "Riptides", Lela shows her talent with balancing contrasting moods, featuring a wall-rattling kick countered by delicate melodies. It feels like a part of a dream—a very dense and visual one.
The album's final third exemplifies the artist's stylistic range, from "Modern Monuments"' erratic rhythms to "Soulmate From The Archive"'s drum 'n' bass vibes. The closing track, "O.K. Corral", leaves you with a sense of openness and gifts you a lasting charm.
You can feel the artist exploring the theme of keeping your home true to your heart with "Keep Your Soul Young"—regardless of your current physical location. "Keep Your Soul Young" is a multi-faceted album worth listening to. Please go check it out. Lela's release day is March 26t (Past Inside The Present).
