Ilyas Ahmed really finds his voice in th captivating songs of 'I Am All Your Own', his first solo album since 'With Endless Fire' (2012). Rather than his usual instrumental arrangements, or the wordless poems of his Visitor duo-mate, Liz Harris a.k.a. Grouper, the Ahmed's dreamy, folk-tinged vocals are front and centre against wide, plush backdrops of his multi-tracked acoustic and electric strings blown out like some Fripp & Eno or Lawrence English composition. "Written and recorded entirely on 12-string and electric guitars, I Am All Your Own was recorded using a 4-track cassette recorder with few overdubs and mixed to ¼ inch tape, exuding intimacy and homespun atmosphere. An impressive balance lies between the lush atmospherics he conjures and the sparse arrangements of the songs themselves. As the LP unfolds, a narrative also begins to take shape: the protagonists begin their day peacefully after a long night, they come to a realization that the events of the previous night will change their life forever, and eventually dissolve into a states of regret and eventually acceptance. The guitar-based tracks are interspersed with two untitled interludes of heavy drone and celestial drift - a reminder of Ahmedʼs days as a key, and prolific, figure in the international experimental underground of the past decade. However, even these emanate a clarity that is new to Ahmedʼs work, and which makes I Am All Your Own seem like the opening of a new chapter of his career."
