South X Lullaby: Lydia Ainsworth

Lydia Ainsworth doesn't so much subvert pop music, but skates around its edges. You can hear that all over Darling Of The Afterglow, a surreal album that blurs melodies and rote formats with a sense of mystery.

She told NPR in January, "I wondered, what if you could create a state in which your sensations and memories live on forever? What would that look like? What would that feel like? What would that sound like?" Well, we know what it sounds like now and found a place that maybe looks like it, too. During the SXSW music festival, we asked Lydia Ainsworth to perform in Raum Industries' Optic Obscura installation. Surrounded by dim, long-hanging optical fibers that look like an infinity room of cat's whiskers, she sings a stripped-down version of the slow-burning "Afterglow," accompanied only by an upright bass and light percussion.

SET LIST

• "Afterglow"

CREDITS

Producers: Bob Boilen, Mito Habe-Evans; Director/Videographer: Nickolai Hammar; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Photo: Nickolai Hammar; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann.

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