‘Araw’ / Corin [Premiere]
Set to the tune of nature, Corin emerges from experimentation in lockdowns with an EP lush with metallic ambience as expansive as it is personal.
Araw is the latest body of work from Corin, set for release on December 10 via Heavy Machinery Records. Corin Ileto, the Filipina-Australian producer, composer and performer, amongst other titles, is renowned for her work in electronic music. Araw, meaning ‘sun’ in Tagalog, is a five track EP that submerges the self in a textural sound play. Each soundscape warps space and time to create a pensive nature that feels like Corin's most personal work yet.
Araw is an oeuvre so spacious and textured that its subtle layers gently pull you into an orbit of its own, with each multilayered track holding a ghostly, delicate quality – every aspect of Araw feels fleshed out and intentional. With such a deep exploration in ambient electronica, it would seem easy for elements of each track to get lost in each other, pushed out of orbit, and left floating in space. Yet Corin commands each element into focus and allows it to linger with finesse.
“Only Time Will Tell” is a beautiful, slow build that saunters quietly up to you as listen – hushed chimes layered with luxuriating keys bring a thoughtfulness that mirrors the tracks title. With a childhood background in classical piano, Corin uses her own improvised piano motifs to weave elements of her musical past into the present. The loose constructions were recorded, spliced, and heavily affected to create a lithe sound that floats throughout the entirety of Araw.
“Nadir” descends into a brooding churn of deep ambience; metallic growling frames the track as rhythmic industrial tones push and pull at one another. It is an aural testament to Corin's experimentation as an artist and the ensuing body of work conceived through various lockdowns this year. Previous releases such as 2021’s Enantiodromia and 2019’s Manifest remain more attuned to edgier electronica motifs – exhilarating and energetic. Yet Araw listens like Corin's most personal work yet, steeped in a year that was cushioned by solitude and time to experiment.
It aims to understand and flesh out complex themes such as grief and loss, with Corin navigating the passing of her mother to cancer almost a decade ago. The subsequent tracks feel nostalgic and warm – they hold an intimacy unlike any other of Corin’s preceding works. When asked where Corin visualises Araw being played, the answer that was given was one that is also revealed in each track – nature. “Solis” provides this visual fittingly with a gentle, twisting echo that would feel complete if amplified through a misty green forest. Fittingly, the EP’s album art, created by Wei Huang, was inspired by photographs Corin took of tree roots on Worimi Country (Regional NSW).
“Sometimes I think we have to look back to the past in order to move forward to the future. I see this release as a pause within the trajectory of my other musical works.”
Corin notes Club Ate, a Warrang/Sydney-based arts collective as a key platform for exploring her Filipina identity. With a focus on community activation, the collective transforms Filipino mythology to explore queerness and Asian diaspora through art, performance, and music. This space of exploration, as well as a current experimentation with South East Asian tuning systems, is an indication of special things to come not only for future bodies of work, but also Corin's development as an artist navigating the present world.
The first time I listened to Araw was during the first summer storm in November; I was stuck on a broken-down tram sat idyl in the middle of Naarm’s CBD. In retrospect it feels like a special moment to have first experienced the soundscapes produced by Corin. While the world rushed for cover from the storm and trains grinded on the bridge above, Araw offered a moment of peace and introspection; a certain sonic tranquility that seemed to harmonise with the natural elements wielding their power outside the warmth of the metal cocoon I found myself in. The ability to juxtapose so many elements and inspirations, yet have them meld with such ease that it appears effortless, is the beauty of Corin’s artistry.
Stay up to date with Corin on Instagram, their Website and Soundcloud
Article by Stephanie Broadbent-Smith
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