Chiasm (Photo courtesy the artist)
Detroit-based musician Emileigh Rohn, better known as Chiasm, has become known for cultivating lush, eclectic, eerily dystopian sonic landscapes with delicately balanced vocals for the past 20-plus years.
On June 5, Chiasm released Away, her latest EP, via COP International, and the title track is our Song of the Day!
The Away EP features writing and musicianship from collaborator John Fryer (Black Needle Noise), the noted producer whose credits include Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, 4AD, Cocteau Twins, and Love and Rockets. The EP comes in advance of Chiasm’s full-length album, Missed the Noise, to be released later this year.
“The COP team, along with John Fryer, really knew what I needed. It was absolutely a new adventure. This EP is much more accessible than previous works because we made it so quickly (John moves fast!) so there wasn’t a lot of room for total introspection and intense analysis, which is unusual for me. John makes everything sound beautiful, and I’m so eager for everyone to hear it,” Emileigh said. “I also need to acknowledge my home team, including the cats, for the inspiration and encouragement.”
Stream “World Left” by Chiasm on Bandcamp:
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=3964154967 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small]
The Away EP follows a long line of notable releases from Chiasm (established in 1997), including the 2001 album Disorder with the track “Isolated” that was featured in the television show NCIS as well as in the Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines computer game. Rohn has also collaborated with genre stars Attrition, Carphax Files, Jean-Marc Lederman, Third Realm, :10:, and Acclimate.
All of Rohn’s previous releases had been self-written, programmed, performed and produced in her Michigan studio known as the MausHaus. The music, and the project name (which refers to the optic chiasm, a crossing of optic neurons in the brain that allow people to have continuous and peripheral vision), are in dedication to her full-time career in the field of science.