Audiopile Review: Even in the wake of Jamie Tiller’s passing, Music From Memory continue their incredible recent run, using their good name to keep releasing incredible new music instead of just relying on reissues. MFM follow up the heat-warped 4th world of Contours and the vaporwave-jazz of Total Blue (vinyl coming soon) with a new album from Californian duo Tom Koh and Sun An. Well, technically Californian. While both had their start here—Tim Koh most notably played guitar with Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti during their breakthrough period—the two traded tracks back and forth between Berlin and LA, resulting in a beguiling album that minces the world of Fahey/Basho style primitive folk with tape manipulations, glitching ambience and woozy synths. Though it’s fairly abstract at it’s core, Koh and An don’t forsake warmth during their inter-continental exchange, coating the album in the kind of distorted guitar-centric glitch found on Fennesz’s masterful Endless Summer, blips of their rustic folk and vocals popping in and out of the gauzy haze. Immersive and wildly successful despite the distance, or perhaps due to it? Another stunner from Music From Memory. Stay tuned for the mid-August release of Total Blue, which is shaping up to be one of the labels finest recent moments.

Music From Memory is pleased to announce the upcoming release of ‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’, a collaborative album from Tim Koh and Sun An.

Tim Koh is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. He has been touring, releasing music and showing art works internationally for nearly two decades. Sun An is a Southern California-based graphic designer, art director, and sound designer who has self-released music since 2012.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ plays somewhat like a dreamlike collage; across 18 short compositions, finger-picked guitars melt with electronics and warped samples to create a form of American Primitivism bent and refracted through Tim and Sun’s unique lens.

Their collaborative journey unfolded gradually, exchanging snippets via email over the span of a year or so, Sun in LA and Tim in Berlin. Amidst personal struggles and uncertainties, the act of recording and composing became a refuge, a safe space where they could navigate life’s complexities together. Though they didn’t converse much, mostly just sending music, their musical dialogue spoke volumes, shaping a narrative that evolved naturally over time. As they shared their musical ideas, they discovered a profound sense of connection and understanding with one another. The music became a conduit for healing, bridging the gaps between them and offering comfort in times of need.

Their musical influences and backgrounds anchored them. From reminiscing about past scenes to exploring cultural intricacies of being Korean American in Los Angeles, infused with a natural sense of shared identity, their collaboration reflected a mergence of old and new memories into a hallucinatory, dream-like experience. Across the 18 compositions that make up the album, incense emerges as a poignant motif, symbolizing the passage of time. Each incense stick becomes a vessel carrying the essence of moments gone by, while the holder becomes the custodian of these ephemeral memories.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ invites the listener on a boundary-transcending journey of introspection, joy, and pain, creating an experience that lingers long after the last note fades.

MFM070 will be released as 1xLP on vinyl and in digital format on June 21st 2024. Sleeve art by Brian DeGraw, design by David McFarline.