Track Of The Day PALLAS ATHENE
The first time I came across the ethereal Electronic Pop project by Toronto-based musician, singer and composer Breanna Johnston, under the alias of ancient Greek mythological origin, Pallas Athene, albeit in reality inspired by the name of a meteorite, was in August of 2016 while I was following on Soundcloud the quite interesting demo entries from Brighton‘s Fat Cat Records, through one of her earliest tracks, “What I Want”, then included, 3 years later, in the UK label’s Various Artists demo selection “Brought to Light Vol.1.”
Back from a decade spent playing in various rock and folk bands (Spirit Oak, Iluminas), the Canadian artist was somehow ‘forced’ to deal with the electronic machines after an accident at the hand that prevented her from playing the guitar for a while.
A promising debut 5-track debut self-titled EP was released in 2019 but the plan of a full studio album was unfortunately delayed due to chronic illness, only in 2021 she comes back with a few remixes (including an AFX rework) and a new track, “Gimme Gimme”, as part of a compilation on The Leaf Library‘s label Objects Forever.
Pallas Athene shapes a dark, rarefied, and melancholic synth-laden sound enveloped in a gauzy haze, in which the minimalistic rhythmic foundations, ruffled, occasionally, by broken and rolling percussion, and bittersweet melodic sensitivity, are enriched and layered with diverse facets of electronica, from cerebral IDM, reflective ambient, to evocative folktronica, creating deeply introspective sonic journeys through a disconnected and anxious headspace of stirring and understated magnetism.
Last weekend by chance I rediscovered on Soundcloud, somehow like resuming a strand of memory, the new single “Sunny Days”, infused with beautifully mesmeric lyrics that guide an angsty soul through a tough change.
Humming shimmering wistful resonance vibrates through stumble hypnotic muffled beats and subtly percolating, pulsing low ends, interspersed with tinkling harmonic drips, and treble reverberations that flicker over dreamy, contemplating vocals, amid ephemeral celestial echoes, cascading into agony and ecstasy of lost, carefree moods.
Keep up with Pallas Athene:
