The 51st release of katharsis is the album Afterlife by Danish artist Johan Carøe. The album takes shape through a collection of synth vignettes and spectral landscapes, where fragmented strings and ephemeral pads merge into weightless, hyper-lush forms. Created in a period of both new life and impending loss, Afterlife lingers in the space between presence and absence—a fragile transmission of shifting states, quiet relief, and fleeting sonic imprints. It stands as an isolated relic of a time that no longer exists—a collection of echoes, projecting the paradoxical nature of life and death.

Created in solitude on headphones and a MIDI keyboard in a transitional period in life, the album embodies a raw and intimate catharsis—the word in its truest sense. Without the usual studio space, these pieces emerged through line-in synths, VST textures, and fragments of old recordings—saxophone, cello, violin—stitched together like distant memories resurfacing. The absence of microphones and monitors lends the music an eerily virtual quality—a small life in a small box, a stretched-out portrait of a passing moment. It is introspective yet expansive, a meditation on the transient nature of memory, sound, and being.

released March 31, 2025

mixing by Christian Rohde
mastering by jjjacob
artwork by jjjacob