Kevin Bronson on October 4th, 2022

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Ivory Fields combines the talents of two of L.A.’s more plucky sonic explorers: Alejandro Cohen of the music collective Dublab (where he is executive director and curates the ambient series Tonalism, among other exploits) and Mahadev (formerly known as Matt Gangi).

Mahadev recently closed the book on his project GANGI and moved on as Fake Estates. Cohen has made music as part of several collaborations over the years, notably Languis (dream-pop/shoegaze fans should hear this 2006 release) Pharoahs and also Psychic Powers, among others.

Ivory Fields’ self-titled album, out Oct. 28, combines densely layered synths, beats, guitars and vocals in a way that at first blush seems amorphous — defiantly avant-garde swathes of sound that hint at dream-pop and dark, left-field techno. Animal Collective might come to mind. Cohen, in fact, says that the collaboration began “as a loose tribute to Dome –the experimental side project by members of Wire.”

The album has actually been on the back burner for about a decade. “The album wasn’t completed sooner, not because of lack of inspiration or too much time in the studio,” Mahadev explains. “We took our time to let it smolder, and either because of what was brought to light through the burning of time, or because of the process of completion we achieved by looking back into the fire, Ivory Fields is work we are very proud of.”

||| Watch: The video for “As If”

||| Stream: “Land and Sea boundaries”