Following her critically acclaimed debut KNVF (Erratum Musical, 2021), Charmaine Lee returns with Tulpa—a bold new statement that pushes the expressive potential of the human voice and electronics to the edge. Where her earlier work explored quiet textures and gestural nuance, Tulpa is visceral and immediate, merging raw vocal power with dense layers of analog and digital processing.

Drawing inspiration from the physicality of '70s rock and the esoteric qualities of high-voltage tube gear, Lee crafts a sonic world that is both feral and futuristic. Tulpa pulses with saturated overtones, microscopic detail, and dynamic shifts in scale—zooming between intimacy and immensity.

Produced and recorded by Randall Dunn (SUNN O))), Kali Malone, Anna von Hausswolff), Tulpa was created using a unique spatial technique: Lee’s voice was split into direct signal and multiple vintage tube amplifiers used as speakers, creating a feedback-rich, dimensional environment. The result is a recording that feels tactile and immersive—simultaneously grounded and spectral.

“I was drawn to that '70s sound—how it felt alive and unpredictable, yet deeply embodied,” says Lee. “Tulpa is about dissolving boundaries: between body and machine, space and perception, sound and illusion.”

The title refers to a concept from Tibetan mysticism: a tulpa is a being conjured through focused thought. Lee invokes this idea as metaphor for her practice— where sound becomes a material act of imagination, shape-shifting between presence and apparition.

The record closes with a meditative duo featuring world-renowned reed player Ned Rothenberg on bass clarinet, a sparse and spacious track inspired by Noh theatre. It offers a moment of stillness that echoes long after the album ends.

1. The Loading Zone
2. HGT
3. Little Rascals
4. Overlevered
5. Water Margin
6. Live Long
7. Moebius
8. Noh Age (feat. Ned Rothenberg)