Bytes Vinyl, CD & Tape 2 Items

Bytes is proud to announce its first release of 2025 — In the Depths, the stunning debut album from Silver Y, aka Laura Caviglia, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist from Sicily, Italy. In the Depths revolves around the theme of identity loss (Rest Home, Shadow, Self), explores the various stages of coma (Stupor, Sopor), and culminates in death (In the Depths). Yet, contrary to what that might suggest, it is a more spiritual than dark album. The closing track, Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, was conceived as a sort of prayer inspired by the Buddhist mantra of the same name. “Its meaning invites us to understand the duality at the core of existence — an alternation of light and darkness that, if truly understood, can be experienced as complete light,” Laura explains. “This practice offers a way to find peace beyond suffering, and this is the invitation I want to extend to everyone through this album.” Laura’s passion for electronic and ambient music started about 15 years ago, but it is in the past few years that she realised these were the genres that would allow her to find her personal language in music, express herself and experiment. “In this field, musical composition goes beyond harmonic, melodic and rhythmic choices,” she says. “It is the search for, or even the creation of, the desired sound that intellectually and emotionally stimulates me about this genre. This pursuit has led me to develop a passion for sound synthesis (and analog synthesizers) and sound processing during mixing. I believe I still have a lot to learn, and thankfully so.” Laura is a singular artist whose emotionally affecting compositions reveal a vulnerability and an ability to make songs that throb with an acutely sensual and psychedelic intensity. During the composition process, Laura listened to a lot of ambient-like music, such as Grouper, Biosphere, Ana Roxanne and the classic trip-hop shoegaze album Beat by Bowery Electric, as well as electronic projects like Rival Consoles and Kiasmos, and Italian electronic artists like Daniela Pes and Gold Mass. The album was composed on a set-up primarily consisting of three analog synthesizers and a drum machine connected to a sequencer, plus a Midi keyboard used to add Arturia Mellotron and Solina sounds. For Laura, the live performance is an important moment of connection between the artist and the listener, and each of her live shows can be slightly different because she controls all the sounds in real-time. This also brings the risk of making mistakes, which makes the performance genuine and authentic. “I live in a part of the world where music isn’t considered important,” Laura says. “Not only is it highly unlikely that your favorite artist will come here to perform, but even smaller bands rarely make the effort to visit. Once, I was complaining about this situation to a friend of mine who lives elsewhere, and he replied, ‘If you can’t go and listen to the music you like, then make it yourself.’ Alright, buddy!”

RIDE"s Andy Bell, recording under his electronic alter ego GLOK, and the producer and Insult to Injury label boss Timothy Clerkin have joined forces for Alliance, a brand new seven-track album released by Bytes.