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'The body needs purpose' by Tradecraft
Produced shortly after the recording of his last Shifted project last month, Carrier unveiled his album 'The Body Needs Purpose', released on London based label Berceuse Heroique.
Those who are familiar with his work as Carrier - one of his other many aliases - needn't be mistaken: the Tradecraft project breaks away from his previous rhythmically-oriented productions, crafting murky yet dreamlike soundscapes — recalling at times Monolake’ s cinematic aesthetic. The Body Needs Purpose takes us on an hour-long downtempo electronic meander somewhere between dream and reality, sample and synthetic, where drones and haunting atmospheric layers blend with a creaking array of machine-like sound objects.
Words: Mila.
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'Limerence' by Alto Aria
Alto Aria delivers ‘Limerence‘, an album “dedicated to the broken-hearted”, on Valentine’s Day. Released on her own label Rhizomes, it explores themes of non-reciprocal sentiments and the struggle towards healing through a narrative juxtaposition of alt-pop songs.
Limerence can be defined as an involuntary romantic obsession towards another person and the overwhelming need to have one’s feelings reciprocated. Croatian Amor’s long-time collaborator Alto Aria tells a story of unreachable mutual love through disturbing strings and somber choirs, cold beats and gliding bass building up and releasing tension. Lead vocals are longing and disconsolate, as the Danish musician sings repetitively words of obsession towards the lost one. Nocturnal sorrow tracks become progressively faster, reaching a climax in “Went here to Forget”: the track begins with a club rumble heard from outside, then goes on inside to an entrancing attempt of catharsis. But it didn’t succeed, everything after returns to heavy stillness and heartfelt lost messages. Healing finally begins from self-reflection, when the words are not directed to an unreachable “you” or a lost “we” but to a doubtful “I” in “To Keep My Own Dream”, then past-reminiscent yet serene surreal piano vignette “Like You’ve Never Been hurt” to build on a new ground.
Words: Antoine.
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'Apex' by Chiasme
Chiasme sways us with her album 'apex', released on January 19, a five-handed co-production with Ttristana, Basile, Nelson Beer, Steven Correia, and Jorddan. Between two worlds, her raucous voice is graced with simulations of other personas, these voices that stalk her, or guide her in her head. Never really sung, far from simply exploring the spoken word, her work is a pop hybrid. A hybridity that aims to break the codes of French pop, more ethereal and airy, sometimes ambient, and always poetic. Her poetry is cold, straightforward and sharp, emerging from the depths of her being.
This mood is reflected in his video for "materia", in which we see the artist more at ease in the muggy depths of a cave, far from any human species and close to raw matter. Here, it's a question of analyzing eternal matter, origins and transcribing this research into the turbulent evolution of this human thought, in order to find a little serenity.
Words: Adé.
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'Buông' by Anh Phi
The connection is fragmented in "Ol", followed by ultrasounds to symbolize mutation into another space, where resilience and perseverance will give way to gasps of encouragement. In "Buông", Anh Phi proposes a chase with her Vietnamese heritage, and "the dichotomy of intergenerational migrations" as specified by the artist. To honor this narrative, Anh Phi went to capture the biosphere of Nam Cát Tiên National Park.
The club resonances are mutating, multiple and hybrid, also drawing inspiration from tribal music and its hurried tempos. The story, full of twists and turns, is cinematic: the opening of "Ol" ignores order; in "A", native language and modified voices join forces to guide the protagonist; "()" is brighter and more danceable, and therefore less urgent; "Ừ" wind and bells give the work a new direction. A liberating finale where no answer is given, but where memories rest in peace.
Words: Adé.
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Photo: Tradecraft.
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