Name: Only Love From Now On
Brand: Carmen Villain

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

STS399lp

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2022-04-01

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Secre­tly

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

7072822399108

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Carmen Villain

Genre US

Electronic

Label US

Smalltown Supersound

Carmen Villain is a Norwegian musician known for her diverse range of musical styles. She initially gained recognition for her guitar-driven indie pop sound before exploring more experimental genres such as leftfield electronica, fourth world, and ambient music.

With influences ranging from Roméo Poirier to Sofie Birch, Carmen Villain has carved out a unique niche in the music industry. Her innovative approach to composition and production sets her apart from other artists in the scene.

Collaborating with talented performers like Astrid Sonne and Dylan Henner, Carmen Villain continues to push boundaries and defy genre conventions. Her discography includes captivating releases such as "Whatever The Weather" and "Salamanda," which showcase her mastery of atmospheric soundscapes.

The US-born, Norwegian-Mexican musician and producer Carmen Villain, real name Carmen Hillestad, has spent the last nine years and four albums gently unraveling song into the sound of emotional impulse. From the tilt and croon of her first two albums to the expansive warmth that flows and pulses beyond ambient in her more recent output, Hillestad’s journey is artful musical deconstruction but also somehow spiritual growth. 

Hence new album Only Love From Now On, her fourth full-length and the culmination of a build-up that really began with the turn in sound evident from third album Both Lines Will Be Blue (2019, Smalltown Supersound) and the subsequent releases Affection In A Time Of Crisis (2020, Longform Editions) and Sketch For Winter IX: Perlita (2021, Geographic North). While the seed of her aesthetic was planted earlier, it has blossomed into something unexpected, benevolent in its composure and altogether luxuriant in its sensuality. Perhaps that’s why she collaborated with the likes of Jenny Hval and Parris – appearing on the latter’s new debut album. And why he – along with Biosphere, DJ Python and others – have contributed remixes for her.

Listening to Only Love From Now On is simultaneously comforting and alluringly strange. Partly it’s the contributions of guests Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Johanna Scheie Orellana (flutes). Partly it’s the fluidity between instruments – such as clarinets – field recordings, the studio, jam, and careful composition. She calls the process a conversation with sound that occurs in her deliberate attempts to experiment with new methods, like granular synthesis, for her music-making. But mostly that strange comfort is in the peace and grateful contentment she has found via the stark recognition of her own privilege – laid bare by the pandemic. Only Love From Now On is fueled by the sense of scale in feeling small in the face of things so large, the contemplation of how the biggest impact we can have is in the people close to us, the attempt to make sure that impact is a positive one, and the choice to try to focus on love instead of fear.

Only Love From Now On

Music US