Classical and not-so-classical-at-all: Julia Holter’s music lies at a crossroads similar to the one where artists like Arthur Russell or Laurie Anderson reside. It’s the sound of an artist who has clearly been trained – in this case at Cal Arts with Michael Pisaro, and in India with harmonium guru Pashupati Nath Mishra. Holter’s songwriting stems from a mythological reverence of incomprehensible beauty; her 2007 EP *Eating the Stars* was a first attempt at musically transcribing this feeling, and her 2011 album *Tragedy* embraced similar strains of shimmer. But it was on *Ekstasis* where everything came together. Critically beloved, it was a record whose motivating character was best described by Holter herself: “*Ekstasis* reflects a desire to get outside of my body and find what I can’t define.” Then came *Loud City Song*, a panoramic adventure of an album, revealing her wild imagination and visionary soundscapes.
