Bethan Lloyd creates her own exotic electrical world on her recent Cutting Currents. The electro first design, with is experimental construct and her contrasting inherently exotic vocal will draw instant comparisons to classic Bjork. The association is well earned. Lloyd possesses a passionate wail that cuts though your skin. We also hear a taste of the rare delivery known to Sinead O’Connor.
Cutting Currents is collectively captivating. The composition is equally impressive, adapting and altering whenever the threat of repetition presents.
In the spirit of trip hop there’s an underlayer of worldly inspiration, a hint of eastern rhythm and melodic ethos that breaks through. That trait also connects her to electro shapeshifter M.I.A. She pushes it to the front in the closing section, where she layers an influx of electric inspiration with dramatic appeal.
Cutting Currents brings a lot of intention in a single sweeping dose. A combination of innovative production, impressive vocal skills, and catchy songwriting make Bethan Lloyd a buzz artist to watch.
Hear Cutting Currents now on our Women of Trip Hop Playlist.
Allie Crow Buckley is intoxicating on her recent breakout release Greatest Hits. A hypnotic siren with a smokey delivery and expansive range, it’s easy to get lost within the entangling appeal of her vocal alone. On Greatest Hits, she utilizes it in interesting ways, giving it percussive presence and plotting it into the songs melodic framework.
The sonic design is equally entrancing, drawing you in with the opening synths cosmic presence and then calling you to sway to its superior groove. The urban beat recalls Trip Hops breakout moment, the one that inspired the indie pop of today. Acts like Sneaker Pimps and Moloko. We also hear a melodic semblance of 90s Brit Pop in the vein of The Verve. Allie graces their memory with a new indie sensibility, injecting an anthemic appeal in the spirit of Ethel Cain and St Vincent. The result is delightful. Experimental and undeniably catchy.
Hear Greatest Hits now on our Women of Trip Hop Playlist.
O’o just dropped their new single Indigo. The release includes a remix by Holy Other. The experimental dream world that evolves out of the original is imaginative. The unconventional percussive patterns utilized throughout wind you in like a spider’s web, entrancing you with its jagged evolutions and unexpected pickups. The vocal is spliced and wound with an equal percussive appeal, adapting the vocal into a melodic percussive cadence with entrancing affect.
Dreamy soft synth revolve beneath, with modal moves that illuminate the atmosphere and metaphysical intention. There’s something spiritual within this electrical surprise, an inspiration with divine intervention that resonates within its aura. It displays what is capable within an all knowing electrical framework, one that’s unafraid to reconstruct your acquired tendencies. Stylistically it should instantly appeal to fans of Sylvan Esso or Polica with its experimental, but beautiful construct.
Hear the remix now on our Women of Trip Hop Playlist.
The Wild Is Calling 