Divine Ecdysis by Ishtar Sr.

May 21, 2021: Ishtar Sr. aka Savan DePaul (they/them, she/her) is a Gr collective member based in Philadelphia, PA. The Ishtar Sr. project birthed itself out of the need to embrace their identity and experiences in their totality. They embraced it all, from the bodily autonomy right down to the ruthless interrogation of everything they’ve seen, done, and internalized. 2020 ended up being the complete unveiling of this alternate musical persona alongside a couple of EPs and singles, but it all started with a collection of demo recordings made in late 2017 to early 2018. These original demos for Divine Ecdysis acted as their entry point into an openly queer outlook; as they evolved into fully fledged songs and they evolved personally, their vision began to sharpen.

Standing in at 16 songs and stretching 46 minutes, Divine Ecdysis highlights this personal journey while observing the experiences fellow queer/trans people see. The album’s sci-fi/mythological bend nestles various odes to gender-nonconformity, sexual autonomy, queer acceptance, and self reflection. Amidst these major themes the listener can find reflections on poverty (“Jazz House Exit”), snitch infiltration (“Johnson’s Plight”), oppressive/exploitative hierarchies (“2700”, “Operation Cocoon Kill”) and much more. They... more

credits

released May 21, 2021

Writing by Ishtar Sr. (except for most guest features; individual credits on each track page)

Executive production by Ishtar Sr.

Mixed by Ishtar Sr.

Mastered by Ishtar Sr.

Front album cover design by Ishtar Sr.

Main character design by Cathasha

Art direction by Ishtar Sr.

Back cover by Ishtar Sr.

J-card secondary character by CANTANKEROUS PANDA

J-card exterior by Ishtar Sr., Cathasha, & CANTANKEROUS PANDA

J-card interior and spine by Ishtar Sr.

Single character designs by CANTANKEROUSPANDA & Ishtar Sr.

Single cover layout & design by Ishtar Sr.

Lyric booklet by Eli Owens

Huge thanks to Louis and MEFD for premiering Johnson's Plight and the pre-order for us: www.mesenceintesfontdefaut.com/2021/04/23/exclusivite-ishtar-sr-johnsons-plight-video/

Huge thanks to WXPN/The Key for covering Johnson's Plight: thekey.xpn.org/2021/04/29/savan-depauls-ishtar-sr-project-will-make-their-album-length-debut-with-divine-ecdysis-watch-a-kaleidoscopic-video-for-johnsons-plight/

Huge thanks to Audrey and Slug Mag for this kind review: www.slugmag.com/music/reviews-music/national-music-reviews/ishtar-sr-divine-ecdysis/

Huge thanks to Taylor and The All Scene Eye for premiering the video for Ishtar, Reprise: theallsceneeye.com/2021/08/20/ishtar-reprise-completes-ishtar-sr-s-mythical-molt/