The titular 'Slow Trees' strips away conventional song architecture, leaving behind vaporous textures that seem to breathe rather than play. Kikta's vocals float through the mix like incense, wordless at times, approaching the purely devotional. The production work here demonstrates remarkable restraint—each element exists in service of space rather than statement, creating what Adrian Vanegas aptly describes as "sanctuary in a noisy world."

'Slow Trees (Vocal Deepener)' pushes this aesthetic further into ritualistic territory. The voice becomes both instrument and invocation, processed through layers of reverb that suggest cathedral acoustics or the interior chambers of meditation. The synthesised elements shimmer and decay with the patience of geological time, refusing the instant gratification that characterises so much contemporary electronic music.

Both pieces inhabit the territory mapped by artists like Tim Hecker and Sarah Davachi, yet Kikta brings her own devotional sensibility to bear. The original 'Cherry Trees' concerned itself with specific geopolitical tragedies—Ukraine, Gaza—but these ambient reimaginings achieve something more universal. They locate the sacred within the sorrowful, finding in extended drone work and treated vocals a language that transcends the merely political.

The danger with such overtly spiritual music lies in its potential for empty transcendentalism, but Kikta avoids this trap through her commitment to texture and her understanding of negative space. These are not New Age platitudes set to synthesisers, but genuine attempts to create what she terms "primal resonance"—music that operates below the level of conscious thought.

The timing feels apposite. As the world grows ever more fractured and cacophonous, Sophia Aya offers not escape but deeper engagement—a different way of listening that might, just might, constitute a different way of being. Whether this represents the future direction of Kikta's work or stands as a beautiful detour, 'Slow Trees' marks a compelling addition to the growing canon of artists using ambient music as a form of contemporary spiritual practice.