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Marina Herlop - "Pripyat" (2022)

Maybe feeling haunted by a voice is not too bad after all...

In all its beauty, Pripyat (2022) is haunting. Marina Herlop’s third album blends piano, electronics, and her extraordinarily expressive voice to establish a compelling and exhilarating otherworldly universe. The experimental Catalan composer introduces operatic upper-register vocals, while through vocal manipulation, she stretches the human voice to abstraction. Her voice moves through the ups and downs of disparate digital ornamentations, drum arrangements, and multidimensional textures that fall divinely into place within each track. Pripyat is a carefully crafted reflection of Herlop’s sentimental creative process that whirls far beyond mere aesthetics.

The infallible trinity of piano, voice, and electronics elevate the album to another level, the latter of the trio distinguishing the album from Herlop’s two works Nanook (2016) and Babasha (2018). "Abans Abans" chops up classical piano melodies and a whole minute passes before Herlop's delicate voice reaches our ears. Accompanied by subtle reverbs suggestive of a build-up, the track is sparked by the harsh entrance of ripply electronics that pulls the elements into a synchronous alliance. We are immersed in the unexplainably intriguing sphere of craftsmanship through “Shaolin Mantis”. The solid deconstructed drumming is coated with chant-like vocals and piano scale fractions drift in the particles of Herlop’s classical training.

The tracks exist far from a structured place with rigid rules and laws set in stone. Words are mere discordant harmonies smudged under abrasive electronics and drenched in water-logged chords. Herlop’s vocal experimentation reminds us of Björk’s playfulness but also extracts inspiration from the Carnatic music of Southern India and polyphonic Eastern European songs. In “Miu”, the syllables reflect the techniques of Carnatic singers mimicking drum sounds and the track draws meaning from sheer sound. “Kaddish” feels almost ritualistic of the way Herlop’s translucent high voice stretches over the sore lullaby. Her voice is accompanied by soft electric strings and eventually united with hyper-real synth bubbles that lure the listener deeper into the idiosyncratic wonders of Pripyat.

While Pripyat bears the name of an abandoned Ukrainian city, the eerie musical experimentation shines with limitless possibilities. Each small detail – from the snail bride album cover derivative of Eastern European folklore to the multi-lingual titles – comes together with the sublime sonic encounters carrying Herlop’s emotional endeavours. Pripyat is a boundless creative entity that grows with each listen.

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ML Buch - "Skinned" (2020)

ML Buch is the twenty-first-century cupid

Mary Louise Buch’s debut album Skinned (2020) translates android sentiments for the human heart. By portraying the realities of the complex intimacy of our digital era, the album bids farewell to ordinary guitar-ballad love songs with electronics that slide into your heart like beaming lights. The colossal songs transcend time and space in a way that sounds profoundly unique. Buch frames heartfelt lyrics with roaring sonic touchstones, warm instrumental segues, and layered vocals elevating her adept guitar work and catchy melodies. While capturing the bewildering tenderness of technology, this debut’s feelings stem from deep beneath a digital surface. Skinned is the ultimate ode to twenty-first-century love that does not shy away from downright cyberintimacy.

For Buch, technology is an emotional tool stretching beyond a redundant narrative that echoes ‘connection without vulnerability’. With resonant percussion crashes, rhythmic synth pads, and warping vocals, “Can You Hear My Heart Leave” explodes into the screen as the album’s opening track. Yet, only in the middle, does it properly release itself with longing lyrics accompanied by a finger-picked guitar. Buch explores the pleasures of digital connectivity in “I’m A Girl You Can Hold IRL” through a set of lyrics pronouncing the vulnerability of webcam intimacy. “I’m coming through the screen / Crawling on your table / My mouth against your neck” hovers over a minimal bassline and dreamy polyphonic vocals that softly fade out to the next track.

“Touching Screens” is a bright pop-bop with an exciting beat that flourishes with guitar riffs, cymbal crashes, and kick drums. While being reminiscent of the 80s pop hits, it speaks to the contemporary state of mind. The song feels like the thrilling moment the long-awaited text message from your crush arrives and the spiralling rush from the buzzing phone is vocalized in the simple hook “Touching screens / More than scared”. Between the catchy tunes and the loving plunges, the instrumental interludes "O" and "Boarding" serve as linking threads. We enter and exit each song wonderstruck by the seamless transitions and thoughtful sequencing.

In all its synth-fueled strength, Skinned still remains soft. The vocoded sounds and autotuned overtones of “I Feel Like Giving You Things” sound like warm whispers to the void that are left unanswered. We hear a beating heart engulfed in electronics and are left in awe of this harmonious parallelism. By reminding us of the new intimacies brought by technology, Buch brings us closer to an understanding of what it means to love – right here, right now. Without a doubt, Skinned is as complex as love and technology is just as complicated as the human heart.

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Vegyn - "Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds" (2019)

Can EDM be traditional and innovative at the same time?

Like a breath of fresh air mixed with undeniable comfort, Vegyn’s debut album Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds (2019) is a refreshing new addition to the British sample-based music continuum. The London-based artist's choppy rhythms carry Squarepusher's legacies, and his delicate melodies reunite the long-lost Burial fans around this unique musical entrance. With intrepid textures and innovative beats, Vegyn solidifies his place alongside other greats. No one else on the scene sounds as comfortably familiar and as completely fresh.

Through his accomplished fiddling with samples, Vegyn takes us on a refined aural odyssey. The intro song “Blue Verb” begins with magical bubbly glitches and a soft mutilated voice asking “What’s happening to me?” as the kaleidoscopic ambience is disturbed by a Memphis homage to Three 6 Mafia. “Cowboy ALLSTAR” surprises us with field-recorded noises as horse neighs and laughter push through the sharp amplified percussion and scratchy glitches reminiscent of Aphex Twin. Vegyn proves to us from the start that he masters the art of sampling – and he does it well.

The album is simultaneously soft and ambient but also texturally complex and full of funky collabs. While the raunchy JPEGMAFIA collab “Nauseous / Devilish” is a thrilling lyrical standout, the sombre sonic world of “Debold” and the subtle melodies of “Unknown, Forever Unknown” evoke beat-rambled feelings. Vegyn has learned to harness his creative energy as the endless flow of timeless ideas clears a unique sonic terrain. Whether it is the delicate string arrangements of “Thoughts Of Offing One” or the gritty Retro X hip-hop collab “You Owe Me”, the astounding variety of soundscapes and musical styles affirm Vegyn’s versatility and establish his relevance.

While being an eclectic shrine to the sample-based artists of the past, Vegyn will not be put in a box. The certain softness of his lyrics, for instance, complements his rough breaks in a manner that distinguishes his work from his predecessor and leaves us intrigued. “Don’t ever forget / Wherever you go / I’m always with you” float over the cloudless surface of “It’s Nice To Be Alive” and remind us of a collage of love while hospital sounds claim their place in the background. Perhaps it is precisely this inability to commit to a single soundscape that allows Vegyn to eloquently applaud his predecessors while launching himself to the top. At once forward-looking and conventional, Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds is an enticing experience that we simply can not wait to be continued.