Ishq makes a welcome return to Interchill with an otherworldly excursion into sublime ambience. And Awake is the next chapter of their meditative chronicles that began with the 2004 debut album Orchid (Interchill/Dakini) and left off with their most recent release Sama (Electronic Soundscapes). Imbued with mystical properties, the rich harmonic layers of and awake create space for the busy mind to unwind and drift away to a subtle realm of inner quietude.
Ishq, meaning 'love' in Persian, is Matt Hillier and Jacqueline Kersley, hailing from Cornwall, UK. Combining Jacqueline's etheric vocal contributions with Matt's sonic wizardry, they create a unique sound-world that conveys a quality of contemplative depth rarely found in contemporary electronic music. With And Awake, their lucid foray into the borderland between sleep and wakefulness is tranquility manifest and shows yet again the enduring nature of fine ambient music.
Through their previous albums, Ishq has earned global recognition as one of the frontrunners of ambient production and, with each successive album, they have steadily built on their formidable body of work. With additional releases under the names Elve, Ishvara, Crystal moon, Indigo Egg and Colourform their solid fan base of ambient aficionados continues to grow.
