Review

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Emile Mosseri

I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon

Ghostly International • 2022

In 2021, after finding out they were both living in Los Angeles at the same time, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Emile Mosseri began collaborating during the pandemic. Smith is known for her cosmic synthesiser work, while Mosseri is an esteemed composer of soundtracks whose score for »Minari« was nominated for an Oscar in 2020. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith first heard Emile Mosseri’s music when she saw the film »The Last Black Man in San Francisco« and was impressed by his ability to create magical as well as familiar melodies. Mosseri, in turn, was fascinated by Smith’s impressionistic process, and their mutual appreciation led to their collaboration on the two-part album »I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon«. In the two approximately 17-minute halves, the acoustic worlds of the two merge, creating a lively as well as dreamy atmosphere. The dream world constructed with synthesiser, piano, electronics, and vocals is both melancholic and innocent as well as evocative. Although their music contains numerous electronic elements, there is nothing inorganic about the collaboration. The album »I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon«, released on Ghostly International, is the result of mutual inspiration, where the stylistic threads of the two composers come together to form a distinctive vision.