Pulled from the Ash, Still Warm: Ashley Ray Simon’s Terra Santa

Certain records simply resurface rather than arrive and Terra Santa by Ashley Ray Simon is one such record. It is neither a debut nor a follow-up – instead, it is like a phoenix rising from the ashes; still warm; still alive.

Released on March 13th, the EP feels as though it has been lived in (like spilled beer on the floor), has static in the air around it, and has its echoes resonating through concrete walls long after the band has left the stage (it was recorded live in Prague and you can tell by the way it permeates every second of the album that there is no "grid" or "perfected" soul). It is just pure motion.

Ashley Ray Simon has always viewed music as more of a series of chapters than a series of promotional campaigns. When she originally released her first album it was a no-click effort that had no desire to achieve perfection; her second album was presented in a more cinematic way with an expansive and dusty sound; her third, which had been heavily influenced by her experiences with love and heartbreak, was presented in a more experimental pop way; and now we have this new EP from Ashley Ray Simon which is a return to her original artistic direction but is sharper, grittier and more dangerous than any of her previous recordings.

Collaborators play a key role in making music come alive; not by name dropping, but rather by breathing life into every beat. Bass can move around; it doesn’t stay put. After weeks of being in the studio, the music was discovered as if we were digging up buried treasure. Old analog records, new and odd instruments, a sixties organ that whispers like a ghost, vocals recorded in subterranean hallways with very strange energy. It is hard to tell if the recordings are coming from ghosts or truth.

Terra Santa is about truth rather than control.

The heart of Terra Santa is found in its many textures - ash, tape, and the faint buzzing of the mic just before the take. Retro soul and psychedelic rock naturally flow into and out of each other as if they were all one thing. It doesn’t seem to float so well together, but somehow, it does.

Ashley does not focus on producing a specific sound; he focuses on creating a specific feeling.

Terra Santa does not try to sell you on anything; it is simply an entity that exists at this moment waiting for the right opportunity.