Agia Monaxia – shape of the lotus twin (or) the shepherd’s surrender to reaper
We are very excited to announce our 17th release, “shape of the lotus twin (or) the shepherd’s surrender to reaper” by Agia Monaxia.
Agia Monaxia (meaning Holy Solitude in Greek) is an ambient/drone project based in Athens Greece, with Vagelis Moschos and Ashley Hallinan being its main members. Agia Monaxia is a unique project in the sense that they work on every aspect of their music from composing, to performing, to mixing and being involved with creating the artwork. Part of a rich discography of 4 EPs and 4 full length albums (they started releasing music in 2019!), “shape of the lotus twin (or) the shepherd’s surrender to reaper” is their 5th full length album.
Using a multitude of instruments and sound sources like guitar, synths, keys, bass, organ, field recordings, voice, percussion, marimba, double bass, viola, tzuras lute and oud; Agia Monaxia and their guest musicians create a musician labyrinth for listeners to explore.
Minimal guitar melodies and accompanying percussion coexist with ambient soundscapes and atmospheric drones in a work that respects but also attempts to expand the ambient tradition. The influences of artists like William Basinski, Eluvium, Stars of the Lid and Hiroshi Yoshimura are filtered through Agia Monaxia’s experiences by for example adding instruments common in traditional East Mediterranean music like tzuras lute and oud in “lotus twin” and field recordings of what sounds like an Orthodox priest chanting in “fucking reaper”.
A thoughtful curation of their musical taste, the music in this release reflects the duet’s talent to filter their influences into something uniquely abstract but at the same time very focused. Their commitment to minimalist ideas results in music that has the exact number of layers that it needs to convey a message, no more and no less. The same care and thoughtfulness has been applied to the technical aspects of the album; all sounds have their own space and role to play in the mix.
https://www.facebook.com/agiamonaxia
====
Tracklist
1. lotus twin 00:00
2. lotus shape 08:10
3. lotus surrender 14:42
4. fucking reaper 19:00
5. lotus shepherd 29:42
Members:
Vagelis Moschos – Guitars, Synths, Keys, Bass, Organ, Field recordings, Voice
Ashley Hallinan – Percussion, Guitar, Bass, Organ, Marimba, Field recordings, Voice
Fenia Schina – additional voice (fucking reaper)
Ilias Paschos – double bass, viola (lotus twin)
Thanos Fidetzis – tzuras lute (lotus twin)
Thomas Konstantinou – oud (lotus twin)
Nick Angelopoulos – additional guitars (lotus shepherd)
Written and arranged by Agia Monaxia
Produced and mixed by Vagelis Moschos
Mastered by Vassilis Dokakis at Lotus Studio, Athens
Layout and design by Decompression Graphics
Cover photo by Aliki Evangelinou
“shape of the lotus twin (or) the shepherd’s surrender to reaper” is available on CD and tape as well as for digital download on our Bandcamp page: https://submersionrecords.bandcamp.com/music
https://www.facebook.com/SubmersionRecords
https://www.facebook.com/SubmersionRecords
https://www.instagram.com/submersionrecords/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk2aAdtMIIzw-62xkGbxaQg
https://open.spotify.com/user/zm49y4lx2vtp4v34yuqdcptlw