Inspired by the new age folk popularised by 80s artists such as Clannad and Enya, from her home in rural Wales, Aisha Vaughan releases her debut, physical album. Part drone work, part pagan hymn, The Gate makes full use of Vaughan’s surroundings, weaving in field recordings, including wolves howling at the moon.

No Past, No Present, No Future has a peaceful prayer-like quality. It’s whispers of shaken percussion and wordless sighs, a Celtic caress. Half Awake ripples like fresh running water. A beautiful beatless sonic space, it’s a little bit trance-y, a little bit trippy. More electronic than organic. More 90s chillout room, than 2020s mediative yoga gong bath. Other moments, like Day Dreams, conversely rely on acoustic instruments, such as traditional woodwinds. 

Do You Love Me is a gentle whirl of wind chimes, birdsong and symphonic synthetic strings. The song delivered as if by a distant choir. In places Vaughan’s ethereal vocals pay clear homage to Liz Fraser and the Cocteau Twins. The lullaby-like Across The Golden Land makes like a modern medieval madrigal. Magical and mythical, rich with resonance and reverb, and sonically and aesthetically linked to Rois’ recent Mo Lean – but less experimental, less confrontational. On A Moment In Space Time sampled tumbling tides, rolling, lapping, and crashing, synergise with spinning, spiralling sequences. Campfires closes the album with harp and hushed angelic harmonies. The overall feel very similar to David Holmes and Stephen Rea’s poignant, poetic Elsewhere Anchises.

Aisha Vaughan’s The Gate is out now on Leaving Records.