SOUL FEEDING: FAV OF NOVEMBER – Sega Bodega, Arca, Emma DJ, Oli XL, t0ni,…

1 – Sega Bodega – Romeo, NUXXE

Sega Bodega’s productions have been memorable since his very early works, striking a great balance between accessibility and originality, which got him the praise of both the avant-garde aficionados and the beat-making enthusiasts. His debut album, Salvador, introduced us to a new solo, avant-R&B formula, where Sega had complete control over all the elements of his music, which was indeed successful. Romeo builds over this solid foundation, perfecting Sal’s vision and shedding a light over the darkest shades of Salvador, while still preserving its grit and emotional energy, and does so with an exquisite pop sensibility and a refined taste in choosing and processing more traditional R&B sounds, making them organically mingle with breaks and post-club drops. 

(Michele Sinatti)

2 – Klahrk – Oscillate and Shimmer, SFX

The new album from the DJ and producer Klahrk is one of the most interesting dance releases of the month. Out via the Berlin-based platform and label SFX, Oscillate and Shimmer is a stunning collection of eight tracks, with some contributions from other musicians as coproducers or remixers. The record spans from deconstructed UK bass to high-speed raw techno, evolving in unexpected directions: an explosion of energy and tension with no room for getting bored.

(Francesco Cellino)

3 – Oli XL – Go Oli Go!/ Cartoon Smile, WARP Records

After the astonishing Rogue Intruder, Soul Enhancer, the emotional vibes of the Swedish producer Oli Xl are back with two really moving tracks. With the help of Iglooghost Oli signed “Go Oli Go!”, a cute and childish song from the future, arguably one of the best tracks of the year.

(Giovanni De Scisciolo)

4 – t0ni – EXIT LIFE, Soul Feeder

The new album by t0ni is an extremely emotional and obsessing work of abstraction, where the floating melodies and sophisticated sound design of tracks like “keepsake” seem like the concentrated souls of ravey tracks from a party you dreamed leading to the pure ambient of the lightweight arpeggios in “Light Caused Hallucination”.

(Giovanni De Scisciolo)

5 – Klein – Harmattan, Pentatone

One of London’s finest outsiders, Klein has crafted a sonic universe of her own over the course of the last decade. Harmattan is no exception: a discomfortingly enthralling album, it sounds like glimpses of classical music heard at night coming out of a thick fog. Murky and haunting in the best possible ways, it’s a record that ditches traditional notions of beauty and makes for an extremely rewarding deep listening experience.

(Lorenzo Montefinese)

 

6 – Emma DJ – godrime, UIQ

Parisian producer Emma DJ joins Lee Gamble’s UIQ roster with a mixtape-style 26 tracks album. godrime is as raw and unpolished as loft DIY culture can get (the story goes that the album is the result of one-shot iPhone recordings). Heavily influenced by trap binge-listening, the beat tape features hazy, vaporous beats enriched by a plethora of Parisian vocalists and producers, with the notable contributes of Maoupa Mazzocchetti and Bambounou.

(Lorenzo Montefinese)

 

7 – Internazionale – Vestiges Of Nature, Janushoved

Vestiges Of Nature is a collection of tunes that takes pride in its own disjointed nature and feels like an exploration in the vast and morphologically diverse segments of Internazionale’s musical language and imagination. Breaks, piano sonatas, vaporous pads, autotuned vocals, and guitars, all find their place naturally here, leaving the listener to freely roam between them. 

(Michele Sinatti)

 

8 –  City & i.o. – Chaos is God Neighbour, Éditions Appærent

Two years after their first collaborative album Spirit Volume, guitarist Will Ballantyne and drummer Maxwell Patterson team up again to deliver a great ambient record. Including collaborations with Dis Fig, x/o, and vvilms, Chaos is God Neighbour is made up of raw and brutal compositions, the outcome of a remote production process during a short period of time:  dark synths, gothic guitar distortions with electronic glitches and alien vocals are combined in creating powerful and intense atmospheres that definitely deserve an immersive listening.

(Francesco Cellino)

9 – Arca – KICK II, XL Recordings

They have been told all kinds of stuff about the Kick saga, and as far as this kind of saturating approach to the music industry sounds a bit megalomaniac to me, it’s a fact that pop music has always been behind the corner when we talk about Arca, just like it is that reggaeton is the mainstream genre most vulnerable to the avantgarde infection. That said, KICK II is a great elegant work of implementation of the modern baroque language to such a simple pattern.

(Giovanni De Scisciolo)

 

10 – Loraine James – Wrong Name EP, Self-released

How many artists can we name who have gone from relatively unknown to universally acclaimed-and-established after just one album and a few EPs? Not many. Loraine James sits firmly among them, and after gracing 2021 with her second full-length, she gifted her fans with the Wrong Name EP, a one-week only seven tracks free download. While the influences are several – grime, trap, garage, glitch, IDM… – the way the Londoner treats sound defies genres and boundaries, molding a sonic identity which is  ̵L̵a̵r̵a̵i̵n̵e̵…L̵o̵r̵i̵a̵n̵e̵… ehm, Loraine’s only.

(Lorenzo Montefinese)

ambient Arca Avant-garde Avant-pop City & i.o. dis fig Éditions Appærent Emma DJ Experimental Grime hard techno IDM Internazionale janushoved Klahrk Klein Loraine James Oli XL Piano Post-Club R&B Raggaeton Sega Bodega SFX Soul Feeder SWAN MEAT t0ni Trap UIQ UK Bass warp records XL Recordings

Last modified: December 24, 2021