Mem1: Alexipharmaca

Alexipharmaca presents a dozen electro-acoustic settings by Mem1, a collaborative venture that combines the explorative cello playing of Laura Thomas-Merino with the electronic microsound atmospheres of laptop artist M. Cera. true to its improvised form, the pieces unfold in a perpetual, restless state of evolution, with the instruments advancing in tandem through multi-layered textures. The duo eschews ostentation for understated development in meditative and mysterious soundscapes that teem with M. Cera's simmering pulses, windswept creaks, and gravelly textures and Thomas-Merino's plucks, shudders, and guttural tones; the two similarly bypass conventional melody-based structures for mutating, organically-driven forms. Though unified in spirit, individual pieces exude differences in character, such as the remarkable insectoid setting "Lamarcai" and the ghostly "Aristolochia." the title of Mem1's second full-length comes from a collection of poems about plant and animal poisons and their antidotes that was composed by ancient Greek pharmacologist Nicander of Colophon — a fitting choice, given the tension between surface beauty and underlying toxicity that often characterizes the material.

– Textura (2006)