Raphael Loher Hug Of Gravity Vinyl LP 2025

1. Hug of Gravity I (18:05)
2. Hug of Gravity II (20:37)
3. Hug of Gravity III (18:00)
4. Hug of Gravity IV (19:02)

Raphael Loher’s second solo album, Hug of Gravity, marks his debut on Hallow Ground and continues his exploration of sound, space, and perception. Using prepared piano, tape manipulation, and digital techniques, the Swiss composer shapes four extended pieces that hover between experimental electronics, ambient drift, and minimalist form.

Built from recordings of performances of his 2022 debut Keemuun, Loher reshaped the material through a meticulous process of cutting, layering, and reassembling. Working with a varispeed tape machine, he manipulated pitch and duration to create evolving interference patterns and unfamiliar harmonic textures, mirroring his fascination with altered temporal and spatial experience.

Developed during a three-month residency in the Blenio Valley, Hug of Gravity is deeply rooted in place. Long daily walks through the mountains expanded Loher’s perception of time, influencing the music’s sense of suspension and quiet intensity.

The album’s artwork extends these ideas—six delicate, hand-drawn line studies made during the residency that, when overlaid, form new and shifting constellations, echoing the record’s meditative embrace of transformation and flux.