Originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, Aleksandra Zakharenko has been recording a sonic diary of field recordings and other sounds since moving to Berlin. She started a podcast called WET (Weird Erotic Tension), layering atmospheric sounds and music with spoken word erotica, and 2019's Irer Dent, her first release as
Perila, brought this technique to vinyl. Since then, she's issued several additional tape and vinyl releases, plus collaborations with
Huerco S. and Exael (as part of the rave-inspired supergroup Critical Amnesia) and Ulla. 2021's
How Much Time It Is Between You and Me?, regarded as her debut album, was mainly recorded in September 2020 during a trip to a remote village in France, surrounded by mountains. The record's title comes from a line within the track "Time Date," a spoken story about a girl obsessed with time.
Perila speaks calmly as if leading a guided meditation, and she's submerged within a vat of hiss, her voice surrounded by erratic clanging. The lengthy "You Disappear You Find Yourself Again" is a dry, intricately textured drone, with pianos and drifting, dubby drums gradually emerging. "Blanket" is more immersive, with sounds floating around as if they're in a pool, and a soft, bassy pulse providing a gentle heartbeat of a rhythm. "Fallin Into Space" shapes incidental sounds (faint taps, a squeaking chair) into a trip-hop-like rhythm, with
Perila's whispers barely audible underneath the calm, clear synth pads. While there are plenty of soothing tones flowing throughout
Perila's music, there's also a lot of close-miked sounds that rise to the front of the mix, and it's often far too obtrusive to be labeled ambient music. Instead, this is music intended for deep listening -- make sure you're in a safe place, strap on headphones, close your eyes, and see where your mind takes you. ~ Paul Simpson