F.F. Ivanovski — the moniker of Alfie Newman — has graced us with his presence once more. Based between Worcester and Manchester, the songwriter, producer, graphic designer and sound artist has recently released his brand new album; ‘home.’. Hot off the heels of his previous album ‘SPECTRUM’, the eighteen track album is a “bedroom pop on tour” sonic diary that harkens back to Nicolas Jaar’s Space Is Only Noise.
Likened to H. Hawline, Devendra Banhart, and Younghusband, F.F. Ivanovski as an artist was first born as a series of singles released on his Soundcloud page. From there, after a handful of delightful tracks, he released his first album “d e m o”, from which the lead single “Love Certainly Is Love” was played by Steve Lamacq on his BBC Radio 6 Music Recommends show. Following the release of “d e m o”, Ivanovski completed a series of live audio/visual shows in Worcester and Hereford, including supporting Cosmo Sheldrake on his 2018 tour. The young musician’s show visuals were made up on patterns of black and white oils on water.
After the successful response from “d e m o”, F.F. Ivanovski’s second full album release “SPECTRUM” was released in 2018. Originally a soundtrack for a play of the same name; the album speaks out about the obstacles and anxieties that teenagers face everyday.
Alongside his solo work, F.F. Ivanovski is also for his associations with band nth cave, in which he is a songwriter and bassist. Newman was also featured on Happy Bones’ track “Just The Same” as bassist and producer.
Layer upon layer of synth, simple and to-the-point melodies fill your ears upon first listen. An album definitely created to be consumed to in its entirety: home. is not only a musical album, it’s an art installation; made to make you think. The closing track, Suspended — my personal favourite — is a whopping twelve minutes long, but being slow in build up; it’s definitely worth the wait.
The obscureness of each track makes it difficult to explain as singular songs; but smash them together and it suddenly all makes sense. Made for lying in fields, long train journeys and made for thinking; home. is a small yet significant insight into the underground music scene today and how it’s evolved over the years. Taking influences from a plethora of artists, home. is a subtle nod to the ambient electronica scene and a not-so-subtle homage to the underground indie pop realm.
The album is raw in sound; although it’s mainly electronic, it gives off a natural and genuine vibe — it’s written from the heart. At first listen, home. is reminiscent of Daniel Johnston’s Hi How Are You; especially including the interludes that appear in more or less every other track. Recorded in destinations all over Europe, Ivanovski drops interludes in every now and again to remind us that this is indeed a DIY affair; allowing us to join him on his past travels through various towns and cities.
As a collective, home. is a stream of consciousness, each song linking to and from one another.
Ivanovski uses cassette recordings of running water and rainfall in each track to create a continuous story, from the beginning of the album to the very end.
On his album, F.F. Ivanovski says; “'home.' is a series of dreamy love-songs, sandwiched by tape-recorded ambience and abstract politicisms. Written, and partly recorded, in alien bedrooms throughout various European cities, 'home.' is about the universal yearning to be in the comfort of familiarity; to be amongst people we love and care about”.
Unfortunately, there are currently no upcoming F.F. Ivanovski shows on the horizon for the time being. However, you can listen to the full album here.