Lighten Up Sounds

✨Thank you for the wonderful response to the new release from Mere of Light! We’re excited to share this music with you, and it means the world to recieve your interest and support. The cassettes turned out beautifully: Professionally real-time duplicated to premium RSTM stock, and loaded to mauve-swirl shells. Featuring artwork and lettering by Phoebe Mol, with a three panel double sided j-card printed to 12 pt gloss cardstock, housed in vintage-style heavy duty Norelco case. Released in a limited edition of 50 copies worldwide. Special thanks to White Light / White Heat for premiering the new Portals short film yesterday, calling it: “… thought-provoking catharsis”. Hit the link in bio to listen, watch, and grab your copy before they disappear. All music by Elise McArdle @mereoflight Recorded by: @michaelmacdonaldofficial @bimbom.studios Mastered by: @guillermopizarr @vitoriaregiastudios Artwork & lettering: @dogwithnoteeth Duplication & printing: @duplication.ca Distribution: @tobirarecords @dorisnordic #cassettecollector #mereoflight #fantasymusic

Such a delight to be featured in @thewiremagazine by way of Byron Coley’s excellent column! “… a counterbalance to the raging reality in which we find ourselves.“    Sparking sweet thoughts and memories of the many new age musicians i have been so inspired by for so long (iasos, laraaji, enya, & many more). the more i learn to be present, to meditate, to make music…. the lifelong journeys……… the more i feel they are all one in the same. such an honor, always a new age girlie at heart 🪞

✨ Many thanks to Phoebe Mol, whose beautiful hand-drawn artwork helped to shape the surreal fantasy world of the new album from Mere of Light. These are details from the deluxe art edition, offering an intimate view into the world of portals, potions, and waking dreams. Visit phoebemol.com to explore more of Phoebe’s magical artwork. 🎨@dogwithnoteeth 🎶@mereoflight #phoebemol #mereoflight #fantasyart

Our story follows Sylvie, who stumbles through a mystical portal into landscapes of witches, planets, and dancing night creatures. Following themes of imagination, fear, and the magical subconscious, the work explores the quiet corners of distant fairytale dreams. Heat of Ritual: Portals is a short puppet film accompanying Mere of Light’s new album. Puppets, sets, film and music by @mereoflight .

✨ Congratulations and happy release day to Mere of Light! The new album from Elise McArdle is a glowing orb of rhythm and heart, a fairy tale of dreamlands and distant worlds. Offering six tracks of real-time transformative electronics, the album finds us earthbound with our head in the clouds. Following themes of magic, fantasy, and wild animal life, Mere of Light’s music captures a raw human spirit, navigating through the dark in search of what’s true and real. This album came together through the creative efforts of many people. Thanks to our talented collaborators; the great artists, photographers, engineers, studios, production facilities, and distributors that help make this magical dream a reality. Recorded by @michaelmacdonaldofficial at @bimbom.studios Mastered by @guillermopizarr at @vitoriaregiastudios Artwork and lettering by Phoebe Mol @dogwithnoteeth Photography by @songsofthemorningstar Cassette Manufacturing by @duplication.ca Distributed by @tobirarecords and @dorisnordic Limited cassette and deluxe art editions are available now! Hit our Bandcamp to listen and grab your copy today. #mereoflight #fantasymusic #harpmusic #cassettetapes

‘Heat of Ritual’ dwells in threshold states, feeling through the darkness for what’s true and lasting.

Mere of Light is the project of Elise McArdle, an electronic producer, songwriter, vocalist, and electro-acoustic harpist based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Creating music rooted in themes of magic, fantasy, and feminism, her new album offers six tracks of real-time, transformative electronics.

Working alone on the floor with folk harp, analog synthesizer, drum machine, and voice, McArdle processes and arranges each instrument through a refined process of multitrack sampling. Romantic, fleeting, and edged with danger.

Through patient echolocation, an essential optimism emerges: love, acceptance, and freedom of self. These themes ground the album’s mysticism in pure, elemental momentum. ‘Heat of Ritual’ dwells in threshold states, feeling through the darkness for what’s true and lasting.

The full album arrives next weekend, with deluxe art editions and mauve-swirl cassettes featuring original artwork and lettering by Phoebe Mol. Listen and reserve your copy today! 📸: @songsofthemorningstar 🎨: @dogwithnoteeth #mereoflight #fantasymusic #harpmusic #neworleansmusic #lightenupsounds

SNEEK PEAK of “Portals”…………… a short film i made with entirely miniature sets, to accompany the “Heat of Ritual” album that will be released on April 24! it is an itty-bitty tender & tiny visual romp paired with some special sounds <3 excited to share more!

Beyond excited to share that I have an album, “Heat of Ritual”, coming out on @lightenupsounds on April 24th! it is a special weaving of looped harp and synth, a dreamy delay-drenched offering…………. 🐚 art: @dogwithnoteeth photos: @mxxmorningstar

Hey friends, sorry for the quiet spell. For those just tuning in: Lighten Up Sounds has been a one-person labor of love since 2008. What started as weird noise tapes for basement show merch tables has grown into 16+ years of championing music that feels crucial, even when the world wasn’t totally ready to listen. I’ll be honest, I’ve stepped back from the endless scroll to focus on what actually matters. The label keeps evolving, but it’s still just me (@matthewhiram ) working to get this music into your hands. I’ve cut down the distro side (now mostly the amazing @ramble_records catalog) to stay hyper-focused on releasing new music that feels important. I’ve been deep in making my own music as Hiram, but there are some very special label releases taking shape. Can’t share details yet, but it’s been worth the silence. The current catalog speaks for itself: Andreas Brandal’s haunting soundscapes, Thomas Boettner’s explosive compositions, and Günter Schlienz’s gauzy electronics. All three cassettes are marked down to $8 each at the Bandcamp shop while supplies last. If you’re still here after this radio silence, thank you. There’s a real human behind this account who genuinely appreciates you sticking around. Stay tuned. More wild new sounds coming soon. 📼 #lightenupsounds #tapelabel #experimentalmusic #longliveanalog #cassette

We’re so happy and thankful to be featured on the new @bandcamp Tape Label Report! Thanks to Jude Noel for making it happen. They asked a few interesting questions about the early history and process of the label, which is fun looking back on. Lighten Up Sounds doesn’t usually connect the dots to the person behind the curtain, so to speak, but the label has always been a personal one-man operation. Check out the full article at the link upstairs, with insights into some of the early influences and evolution of the label. It’s a great acknowledgement, and we’re in prime company alongside the amazing @muzaneditions +++ Feeling grateful for this light shown onto our weird little corner of the universe. 🙏🩵 #stilldubbing #cassettetapes #longliveanalog

Heartfelt thanks for the wonderful support of “Kurpark” by Günter Schlienz. We’re so grateful and happy to share this incredible music with the world. Special thanks to @ambientaudiophile for the recent feature and kind words in his great newsletter, saying “… probably the most naturalistic and organic work I’ve heard from Schlienz… unhurried, spacious and featherlight“ You’ll find the full review in our bio. Thanks for listening, tapes are shipping now! 🙏🩷🧡