Luxembourg’s dark folk artist Ptolemea to release sublime »The Antfarm Session« on Raging Planet; »Aqui, Ali, Acolá« live video streaming now!
Luxembourg’s dark folk artist Ptolemea (Priscila Da Costa of Sinistro) has announced a brand new live acoustic album, »The Antfarm Session«, scheduled for release on November 6th, 2026 via Raging Planet Records.
Watch a live session video for the first single »Aqui, Ali, Acolá« below!
Tracklist:
01. Gaivota
02. Aqui, Ali, Acolá
03. Guilhotina
04. Breathe
05. Kura
06. Kali
Courtesy of Imperative PR:
Released in November of 2025, Ptolemea’s second album, »Kali«, was a richly textured, many-layered album of absorbing depths. Gloriously expansive and yet painfully intimate it shifted between the shadows of post-rock, alt-rock and atmospheric doom like liquid silver; an emotive spirit, impossible to pin down and restrain. Lauded by critics for its power, poignancy and bewitching aura, it garnered universal acclaim. However, band leader and vocalist Priscila Da Costa felt that the songs which formed »Kali«’s beguiling tapestry of transformation still had more to give, that they had another face that had yet to be revealed. Returning to the studio with just an acoustic guitar, her formidable voice and producer Tue Madsen (Moonspell, The Haunted, Sirenia etc), she took six songs from »Kali« and reshaped them. She washed away the layers of glamour, every trace of exquisite artifice, revealing the heart of each song; the raw, atmospheric, dark folk roots upon which »Kali« had been built. Naked, honest and vulnerable, these recordings have been brought together to create »The Antfarm Session«…
»The Antfarm Session« begins with the isolated vocal of »Gaviota« – a lament, a prayer an invocation…a doorway of ritual to the magic that awaits. And as the acoustic guitar joins with Da Costa’s voice for »Aqui, Ali, Acolá« you are struck by the powerful realisation that there is nothing missing from these songs. Their essential essence is here; everything that makes them what they are. Truly brilliant songs and performers need only the simplest of ingredients to cast spells and weave tapestries of story and emotion. Afforded so much space Da Costa’s voice is mesmerising, the range and tone wonderful, the humanity and emotion even more affecting and impressive. The songs hold you enchanted in their quietude, from the spellbinding rhythms of »Guilhotina« to the sense of peace and resolution that radiates from »Breathe«. »Kura« balances melancholy and hope, sunlight and shadow with its deeper tones and passionate vocal performance before we reach »Kali«, the title track of the album from which these gentle yet powerful incarnations are drawn. It’s a contemplative conclusion to this wonderful collection, shifting in mood, thought and emotion. Somehow its power has been enhanced rather than lessened in this sparse state, its bones and secrets revealed. The final thoughts as »Kali« slips away like the ghost of a memory are what a privilege it is to listen to these intimate performances. What a gift Priscila Da Costa has offered up, what bravery and trust she has shown.
Tue Madsen’s name bears the hallmark of quality when it comes to recording, mixing and mastering and he has captured the very soul of Priscila Da Costa in these recordings. The collaboration between the two was so successful that Madsen will be producing the next full Ptolemea album in the summer of 2027 and the prospect of what this developing creative relationship may lead to is an enticing one. But the future is for another day…now there is the rare intensity of expression that is »The Antfarm Session« to experience – welcome it with open arms, when Ragingplanet set it free to fly on November 6th.
“…an insightful work marked by maturity and exceptional talent.” – Terra Relicta
Line up:
Priscila Da Costa – Vocals/Guitar
FFO: Emma Ruth Rundle | Dead Can Dance | Chelsea Wolfe | A.A. Williams
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well