The 14th release of katharsis is the debut EP “Pace / Silence” by Danish artist ELCA. The release is truly a personal piece to the artist, as it intends to translate, conceptualize and visualize the physical and psychological experiences of living with heart disease. Throughout the five tracks of the EP, ELCA explores an array of themes and symptoms related to his illness through distorted pads, stuttering synthesizers and heavily manipulated drums.
On “Pace / Silence” the artist seeks to express the difficult feelings attached to illness in our society, recognize others in similar situations and fight the stigma attached to it. Starting the EP out solidly, the track “Defibrillation” is a manifestation of ELCA’s first heart attack and the following electrical shocks he experienced from his ICD. Following this comes “Arrhythmia” portraying the inner battle between the heart and the defibrillator and their struggle to find a common tempo.
On “Bradycardia / Pacemakers”, ELCA firstly depicts the symptom of having a much too low pulse and later the stabilization of the pulse by the pacemaker. Thereafter comes the track “Tachycardia”, oppositely depicting the symptom of having a much too high pulse and the following fears of fainting and potential heart stop. Lastly, the artist shows how on “Composure” that the worst symptoms have ameliorated through the right medical care and how making music has given him release of some of the difficult experiences he had in the intense care.