The effortless enigma of in filth your mystery is kingdom / far smile peasant in yellow musicthe debut album from Dagmar Zunigais apparent from the jump. The fidelity of the Texas independent folk artist’s project is a rough linen-like texture with layers of compression and hiss, far beyond mainstream ideas of TASCAM-fetishizing “lo-fi.” Instead, Zuniga’s music feels like the end of a long procession of cassette dubs and re-dubs, each one a little further away from the original master than the last, until only what’s essential remains. There’s also the title, its first half a statement of purpose — creating a home for the unknown within an evil world — with the second making good on its promise.
in filth provides an antidote to the heartless pursuit of chill vibes that dominates so much of meditative music. The album, just under 29 minutes long, was written and recorded over a period of five years — every second counts, and every decision compliments each other. Zuniga offers two versions of the songs “Even God Gets Stuck In Devotion” and Plenty For All The Masses” and in these tunes we hear shades of Grouper’s ambient isolation and Cindy Lee‘s pop mystery, as well as clear glimpses of a deep spirituality. That feeling comes to a head on closer “To Live Happily,” where harsh noise meets basement church piano noodling.
Since its release in January, in filth has built an enthusiastic cult following that’s on the verge of going beyond the fringes of the internet: The album’s first run of cassettes sold out, and starting June 3, Zuniga will open three shows for Mount Eerie across Texas. We sent her a few questions over email and she responded sharing her personal motto, least favorite piece of advice, and more.
