Luca Yupanqui
Sounds of the Unborn

$13.00

***Deluxe Edition Version: Limited edition of 300 copies, pressed on clear with green splatter vinyl, in an exclusive wrap around sleeve, wax sealed, hand-numbered and available by mail-order only. ONE PER PERSON LIMIT.***

***Sacred Bones Record Society version: Edition of 150 copies, pressed on pink and green starburst vinyl, in an exclusive wrap around sleeve, wax sealed, hand-numbered, with an artist-curated mixtape, and available by mail-order only. ENROLL HERE.***

Luca Yupanqui was not yet born when she recorded her debut album. The music on the aptly titled Sounds of the Unborn is the expression of life in its cosmic state — pre-mind, pre-speculation, pre-influence, and pre-human. Itis the first album created by a person while they were still inside the womb, the expression of a soul that hasnt yet seen the light of day nor taken a single breath of air. It is a message that comes from a different realm, a sublayer of our existence. 

Sounds of the Unborn was made with biosonic MIDI technology, which translated Luca’s in utero movements into sound. With the help of her parents, Psychic Ills bassist Elizabeth Hart and Lee "Scratch" Perry collaborator Iván Diaz MathéLuca’s prenatal essence was captured in audioThey designed a ritual, a kind of joint meditation for the three of them, with the MIDI devices hooked to Elizabeth’s stomach, transcribing its vibrations into Iván’s synthesizers. They let the free-form meditations flow without much interference, just falling deeper into trance and feeling the unity. After five hour-long sessions, the shape of an album began to emerge. Elizabeth and Iván then edited and mixed the results of the sessions, respecting the sounds as they were produced, trying to intervene as little as possible, allowing Luca’s message to exist in its raw form. 

Elizabeth and Iván mixed the album in 2020Luca, now an infant, sat in the studio with them while they worked. Her awareness of what was happening was astounding. She would open her eyes wide and stare at her parents, seemingly recognizing her own sounds from the womb, knowing that they were revisiting those rituals that made them come together as one. Those mixing sessions were technically the first time Luca had heard her own music, but her reaction made it clear that that wasn’t really the case — she had already lived it. 

Own the same device used by Luca Yupanqui, Elizabeth Hart, and Iván Diaz Mathé in the creation of Sounds of the Unborn.

Listen to any living thing and create your own music together with them and your MIDI Biodata Sonication System

Release Date: 4/2/2021

Related products