Sufjan Stevens & Lowell Brams | Aporia | Vinyl

Built from decades of unused instrumental sketches by Lowell Brams that Sufjan Stevens mixed, expanded, and produced, Aporia moves through twenty-one brief synthesizer-driven pieces named after concepts from Greek philosophy and mythology, from ‘Ousia’ and ‘Agathon’ to ‘Eudaimonia.’ Released on the pair’s own Asthmatic Kitty label, the record functions as both a tribute to their long working relationship (Brams co-founded the label with Stevens’s mother and stepfather) and a warmly received conclusion to their collaborative partnership. Critics gave it a generally favorable reception, with AllMusic likening it to ‘an aural journey through a labyrinth’ and Pitchfork praising its ‘warm, improvisatory synth-wave epics.’ The album stands as one of the more purely instrumental and ambient entries in Stevens’s wide-ranging catalog.

Track List

Side A

1. Ousia
2. What It Takes
3. Disinheritance
4. Agathon
5. Determined Outcome
6. Misology
7. Afterworld Alliance
8. Palinodes
9. Backhanded Cloud
10. Glorious You
11. For Raymond Scott

Side B

1. Matronymic
2. The Red Desert
3. Conciliation
4. Ataraxia
5. The Unlimited
6. The Runaround
7. Climb That Mountain
8. Captain Praxis
9. Eudaimonia
10. The Lydian Ring

Release Details

• UPC: 0729920164196
• Label: ASTHMATIC KITTY
• Format: LP Vinyl — Standard
• Genre: New Age
• Release Date: 3/27/2020