Author: dirty chai ☽

hi there, i'm dirty chai :3 i love all sorts of music, but some of my favorite genres are electronic (ambient, electronica, garage..), alt-r&b/hip-hop, nu-disco, and psych rock. all sounds are welcome <3

check out some of my shows on hd-1:
- mocha disco (mondays @ 10am)
- liturgy (thursdays @ 6pm)

Categories
New Album Review

Soundbites: “Londra” – Qendresa

Album cover for Qendresa's "Londra."

Qendresa is an R&B and neo-soul artist from London bringing back the 90’s sound like it’s her job.

She released her second album “Londra,” co-produced by Jordan Lee, on November 28. It’s made up of nine gooey tracks that set the clock back about 30 years.

The first track on “Londra” is one of my favorites from Qendresa, called “2 Much.” Her voice is ribbons of butterscotch as she sings about complicated exchanges with a lover. Even though the lyrics detail an emotional spot to be in, something about her voice sounds like she’s been there for too long: “No I don’t wanna sabotage myself / You know them demons wanna get inside / And every toke is just an ask for help / Every tear is just a blessing in disguise.” I think I like it so much because it’s a sweet coming-to-terms wrapped up in funky treacle riffs. Perfect for overthinking in the after-hours.

“Sweet Lies” is another song about longing, but it makes you want to move. It immediately takes you in again with the sticky syrupy riffs, just at a faster tempo than “2 Much.” Qendresa and Lee are good at adding modern electronic embellishments throughout their trips back in time, striking this gorgeous balance between decades.

The fourth song on “Londra” is a hip-hop/soul throwback called “The Bounce.” Qendresa doesn’t seem to use many samples, so it’s really fun to see how she recreates integral elements of 90’s hip-hop songs with her own voice. I will admit, I don’t like this one as much as I do the others, but I can still appreciate how she retains her sound while doing something different.

The last track on the album is “Whenever You’re Ready,” a sedate winding-down. It’s smooth in a more atmospheric way, relying on slow strums, layered vocals, and lots and lots of reverb (and that blessed shaker). This one specifically sounds like it belongs in a scene from “Girlfriends.”

“Londra” is a unique sophomore project from Qendresa, who is very steadily building a concrete body of work. Her style is a warm tribute that I don’t really hear in other places—barring samples and re-works of pre-existing tracks, because there is no shortage of those—so it’s exciting to see how she fleshes out her inspiration throughout her new releases.

love & disco (happy holidays!),

dirty chai <3

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: “Drums of Death” – FKA twigs + Koreless

Cover for "Drums of Death" by FKA Twigs

“Drums of Death” is FKA twigs’ newest release, the third single from her album “EUSEXUA,” featuring producer Koreless and an array of sensuous textures.

It’s carnal and angry, the coarse motor thrum and the drum beat, but it retains some semblance of ethereality from twigs’ fae-like voice. Later in the song though, the softness of her voice almost adds to the sense of violence as she hisses “Hard metal / Silver stiletto / Devour the entire world / F*** it, make it yours / Do it just for fun.”

The word “eusexua” is one twigs made up herself, roughly meaning a sense of euphoria so deep it becomes meditative: a rapture that transmutes from heat in the core to a flush of the face, and every nerve becomes a live wire.

Different tracks on the album seem to embody different flavors of it, sometimes coming in airy and weightless, but “Drums of Death” is a meditation on booming bass and body movement. I have synesthesia (can you tell I love texture?) so “Drums of Death” is a fun excursion with all its superficial clicks and flits and its pounding basal heartbeat.

The video for the track was released as well, and it reminds me a lot of Aphex Twin’s “Windowlicker” with its strange choreography and dynamic camera movement. In it, twigs sports a pixie cut and a suit, dancing on an office chair in sync with her colleagues.

They all quickly lose the officewear not long after, prowling about in undergarments instead. Around 2 minutes and thirty-seven seconds is when twigs looks like herself again, and the entire video has fully devolved into strobing lights and unfiltered motion of limbs and muscle. The lighting complements the song well too, harsh enough to highlight the dancers’ anatomies in ways that are more graphic than they are sensual.

“Drums of Death” is infectious and peculiar, and I’m excited to see what other alien fruits “EUSEXUA” will come bearing.

love & disco (be well),

dirty chai

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: “The Loa of Music (The Complete Sessions” – Roberto Musci

Cover for "The Loa of Music" by Roberto Musci

I’ve recently made a return to ceremonial sound after a month-long venture into what I’d describe as “comfort genres” (for example, 90s eurotrash). One of my favorite Western artists that falls under that category is Roberto Musci, an Italian musician who makes incredible use of field recordings from the Eastern world.

The first song I ever heard of his, and perhaps my favorite song of all time, was “Claudia, Wilhelm R and Me” from his 2016 album “Tower of Silence.”

I’m not sure exactly how I came across it; I just remember being 13 and feeling like what I had just discovered was something profound. “Tower of Silence” has been tucked into my pocket since, and I tote it around like a lucky charm.

I’ve started to explore his older work more as of late, namely his first release called “The Loa of Music (The Complete Sessions).”

Released in 1983, it was a product of his travels about Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: “The Loa of Music” has field recordings of chants in different languages, instruments unfamiliar to mainstream Western music, and storytelling from across the globe.

Some of my favorite tracks from the album are the ones with Indian elements (sue me), including “Improbably Music,” “Katak Dance for H. Partch” and “Lazy Raga.”

They are delightful in their incorporation of the Hindustani sound, while still taking a contemporary, experimental stance on the endeavor.

“The Loa of Music” is a beautiful collection of songs to meditate to — move about to, breathe in rhythm with, sit outside to — and what better time for that than now.

love & disco (be well),

dirty chai <3

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: “Hide In Plain Sight” – Jim James

Album cover for "Eternally Even" by Jim James.

“Hide In Plain Sight,” off of Jim James’ 2016 album “Eternally Even,” is a spiritual pondering.

For those who are unfamiliar, Jim James is one of the members of the rock band My Morning Jacket, and “Eternally Even” was his second solo release. The entire album is a work of art (I also really love “Same Old Lie,” which sounds wide-eyed like a revelation), so I recommend listening to it in full. My heart has however been taken captive by one track in particular.

Synths brazen and verses bearing profound truths in relatively uncomplicated language. The output is abstract, but the feeling is whole. It’s a floccose sound, like a semi-bitter mug of green tea; it is warm and leaves a certain crackle in the throat.

“Hide in Plain Sight” starts off as noise. We hear a bassline and it’s as definite as a heartbeat; the guitar kicks in and it’s blown out, wailing, alluring. And then Jim’s voice, smokey bourbon perfection, singing to us notes on absolutes (”Life’s eternal struggle / It’s just a dream / I hate to burst your bubble / Times change, entire lives reduced to rubble.”) and the contradiction of hoping like a human does (”But then what if the world became sweet again? / Hand in hand, everybody all the best of friends / Golden ends, could we handle it?”)

It’s a song for the end of the day, when change has become blasé; you’re tired, and you’re tired of being tired. Perhaps my favorite line in the whole song reflects that sentiment: “Life goes on with or without you.” It’s polysemous, which is what I love about it so much. It could be defeat, but it could also be sourcing solace in the surrender.

The best way to describe it might be as a soundtrack to an hour of recuperation, perfect for picking up the pieces.

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
New Album Review

Soundbites: “Electric Honey (Encore)” – Tanerélle

Cover for "Electric Honey" by Tanerelle
Cover for "Electric Honey" by Tanerelle

I’m not entirely convinced that Tanerélle isn’t a celestial being from a far-away Afrofuturist utopia. She brings to Earth her intergalactic take on R&B and neo soul in her newest album, “Electric Honey (Encore).”

The album features some beautiful artists like Machinedrum, who specializes in elegant breakbeat and IDM, and Sabrina Claudio, who has got the sense for sensuality on lock. Drawing from both worlds is something Tanerélle does often, so they seem like perfect collaborators for her vision.

I actually first heard Tanerélle on a Machinedrum track two years ago, called “Star,” and was transfixed. Spellbound. Bewitched. Her voice is like a thick silk velvet against the track’s delicate ambience, and there’s no shortage of that feel in “Electric Honey.”

The first track on the album is “For Her (Chemtrails),” featuring Machinedrum and IMANU. The very first synths sound Ark Patrol-adjacent (an IMANU staple), setting the stage for a lighter dance track that burns out like a blown-out birthday candle: we’re left with the kiss of smoke from its wick.

One of my favorite tracks on this album is “Let Me In – Cosmic Orchestra Ver.,” where Tanerélle takes a standard R&B melody and makes a spectacle of it. The strings are utter drama as she begs a lover to let her in: “Under your skin / Yearning for softness / No need for caution / I’ll be your saint.”

The grandiosity continues with the album’s title track, “Electric Honey.” It’s more of an interlude, bridging the gap between the longing of the orchestral version of “Let Me In” and the neo-soul-voltage of “Blink.”

A final favorite of mine from this album is “Overflow.” It starts off more somber than the others and is at points, more IDM than R&B. At others, it’s sacral like a call through a cavern, accompanied by sober clarity in the lyrics:

I close my eyes as I spy for relief

I sneak away in the night while you sleep

I beg the sky for some love and some peace

And a forever, one for you and one for me

But there’s never getting what you want

It’s an all-too-familiar surrender to truth, after trying to deny that something once complete has since succumbed to decay. I think the track does well the weird back-and-forth between the lightness from relief, and the weight of memory in those moments of realization.

Overall, I think “Electric Honey (Encore)” is a sweet little release with some versatility; I could both dance and cry to some of the songs, depending on the day. It’s slightly experimental, but it remains in the realm of easy listening.

I may play something from it on a set soon..

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
New Album Review

Soundbites: “Got A Story To Tell” – Thee Sacred Souls

Thee Sacred Souls has got a story to tell in their new album, one with tales of self love, longing, sorrow and gratitude.

“Got A Story To Tell” is Thee Sacred Souls’ second album, released on Oct 4, 2024. The band’s work has a distinctly aged sound despite coming together in 2019: other than the beautiful mixing and production, it’s like heartfelt memories and family heirlooms made into song.

Here are some of my favorites.

The very first (and possibly my favorite) track on the album is “Lucid Girl,” a song about a girl choosing to traverse life on her own, and being content with it. It’s equally soft and triumphant, and a celebration of such a fundamental revelation.

Josh Lane, the band’s vocalist, does it justice with a hint of a smile in his voice; I can’t help but do the same as I think of my closest female friendships and our collective exploration of our time here together.

The next track on the album is “Price I’ll Pay,” which takes the perspective of a character willing to put the work in for love. It’s a refreshing take on a love that works, bringing to mind songs like “Ride or Die” by Durand Jones & The Indications. Lane sings like melted butter, with catchy little breaks in between.

Another track I really love off of “Got A Story To Tell” is “My Heart is Drowning.” It’s slower and a little more tart on the tongue than the others. The lyrics are tainted with regret as Lane sings, “With the power of the sea / Your absence washes over me.”

According to the band, their two inspirations for this track were Jamaican rocksteady and 60s girl-group pop. Somehow, both sounds combined to make me feel like something of a heartbroken cowboy, but I have no complaints.

The very last track on the album is called “I’m So Glad I Found You, Baby,” inspiring the sweet feeling of coming home. It’s a Sunday morning song to my ears, something to sip on coffee and window-filtered sunlight to. The track is a lovely note to end on, with the same gentle jubilation as “Lucid Girl.”

“Got A Story To Tell” is a truly beautiful addition to Thee Sacred Souls’ discography. I don’t typically consider myself an “album person,” but this one is definitely one I can listen to the whole way through; I can tell it’ll be an autumn favorite of mine this year.

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: “Space 1.8” – Nala Sinephro

Nala Sinephro "Space 1.8" album cover that is an off-white color with the words Space 1.8 in artist font around the edges. The middle has a pink oval with a black head surrounded by a rainbow circle. The circle also has a black figure holding on to it.
Nala Sinephro's "Space 1.8" (2021)

”Space 1.8” is a 2021 album by Nala Sinephro that is meant for organic movement.

It’s a collection of eight different ambient tracks laden with kisses of harp and saxophone, all of which are perfect to sway, stretch or float to — whichever you prefer.

Each track is meant to have a personality of its own: “Space 1” is mellow, twinkly, and organic like komorebi. “Space 2” is significantly jazzier as the sax takes center stage; “Space 3” is funky and electric like a kaleidoscope. “Space 4” is jazz again, this time with the piano singing its backing vocals; “Space 5” is clicky at first, and then begins to take the sacral form of Hindustani hymns. “Space 6” sounds like not knowing where you are, and “Space 7” is lush jungle made of circuitry. Finally, “Space 8,” the longest on the album (about 18 minutes), is meant for stillness. It is my favorite one to play at the end of a yoga class: it floods the room with a warmth not previously present.

”Space 1.8” is the collaborative child of several different artists, including Sinephro on the pedal harp and modular synths, Lyle Barton on piano and Nubya Garcia, Ahnansé and James Mollison on saxophone, to name a few. It is so beautiful to witness the interactions of each instrument with each other, given the difference in dynamic between each one. Each track is like witnessing play between spirits of sonic wonder, as they bite, dance, entangle and engulf one another.

It is an album fit for reflection on curiosity and exploration, sacred in its manifestation.

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
New Album Review

Soundbites: “Break Me Down” by Yukimi Nagano

Yukimi Nagano for the cover of her new single "Break Me Down."
Yukimi Nagano for the cover of her new single "Break Me Down."

Yukimi Nagano, best known as part of the experimental indietronica/R&B gorgeousness that is Little Dragon, released a track called “Break Me Down” on October 9, 2024. I love Yukimi Nagano (my car is named after the woman), so I’m pretty thrilled about it.

It has the same quirky blazing synths and piano notes Little Dragon unique to Little Dragon’s sound, but it’s just the slightest bit edgier—the track almost reminds me of something off of Jim James’ “Eternally Even.”

“Break Me Down” is sweet and triumphant like a revelation of capability, as Nagano sings, “[E]very day I’m reborn like a new reveal.” Another line, “[E]very day that I wake and I let in love / And I hope that you know my heart’s enough,” is something to be written on a sticky note, posted on a bathroom mirror to see in the mornings.

I will admit I’m not as intrigued by it as I am with some of Little Dragon’s other work, like “Rush” or “The Other Lover,” featuring Moses Sumney — for context, Little Dragon often has off-the-wall elements that make their songs peculiar at first listen, and completely charming by the third — but maybe Nagano’s simpler approach to her solo debut has a purpose as something foundational. Her voice is still as beautiful and summery as ever, and the track is sunny; I’m excited to see the direction she takes on her own.

love & disco,

dirty chai

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: Andrei Eremin & Kučka – “Anhedoniac”

Cover for 2015 single "Anhedoniac" by Andrei Eremin, featuring Kučka.
Cover for 2015 single "Anhedoniac" by Andrei Eremin, featuring Kučka.

“Anhedoniac” brings to mind a beach in the wintertime, where the cold is pensive and the air is pristine; the swells of voice and sound are like solar flares in slow motion (or a lava lamp).

While I was looking for songs to play on one of my sets, I stumbled upon Andrei Eremin’s track “Anhedoniac” off of his 2015 EP “Pale Blue,” and was immediately intrigued. It features vocals from the charmingly extraterrestrial Kučka, and it is hypnotic.

Part of why I find it so fascinating is because, in my opinion, it kind of lacks the distinct 2010s electropop sound. In my head it’s comparable to “Innocence” by Flume, featuring AlunaGeorge, in how its deep-space atmosphere removes it from the throes of time. The synths of “Anhedoniac” wax and wane like ocean under a permanent red sun, and although ambient, the song is not aeriform.

Alongside Eremin’s gorgeous production, Kučka’s voice contributes a svelte substance to the mix. She takes her time, as if she was reading a poem she had written herself. Her vocals are a sensory experience: the words “[Y]ou could destroy me” sound like a sworn truth as they come out of her mouth, a revelation and a confession all at once.

Eremin has worked with several artists since, including the likes of Hiatus Kaiyote, Tash Sultana, Sampa the Great, MAY-A, Ta-ku, Wafia, and Kllo, but has not put out any new tracks of his own. He’s an elusive presence for sure, but his influence is not insubstantial, however quiet it may be. Here’s to hoping we get something new from him one of these days.

love & disco,

dirty chai <3

Categories
New Album Review

Soundbites: Montell Fish – “Don’t You Love Me?”

COLORSXSTUDIOS thumbnail for Montell Fish's performance of "Don't You Love Me?"
COLORSXSTUDIOS thumbnail for Montell Fish's performance of "Don't You Love Me?"

“Don’t You Love Me?” is a song for when there is nowhere else to go.

Montell Fish originally posted a demo of it on his YouTube channel November 2022, but it had never officially been released.

August 15, 2024, he performed the song on COLORS, a well-known music platform in the soul and R&B scene… and it was breathtaking.

Montell Fish, real name Montell Frazier, is known primarily as a Christian artist. He draws inspiration heavily from his faith when creating music, his pure devotion phrased like lyrics of a love ballad. Songs like “Crumble,” whose lyrics are doting and unshakeable in their disposition, are ones I love even as someone who ascribes to a different faith.

“Don’t You Love Me?” is another beast entirely.

The chorus wastes no time, coming in desperate and swinging before anything else can take stage. The lyrics have a hint of something wavering, and Frazier’s voice tells me he’s on his knees:

“Know I get crazy / But don’t you love me anyway? /

And I know I frustrate you / But don’t you love me anyway?”

Like most of the music I love the most, this track found me at the perfect time.

Truthfully, that’s probably why I find it so moving: communication in my own relationship with the Divine exists substantially through sound.

So to come across a song that captures a familiar struggle so eloquently is truly special, especially if it’s not authored by someone with the same beliefs.

Also like many of the songs I hold closest to my heart, “Don’t You Love Me?” is relatively uncomplicated and somewhat repetitive, only breaking the prayer for a bridge in between; the devotion is apparent, however unadorned the track may sound.

After I’ve had it on loop for an hour or two, the song becomes a chant, of despair, of fear, and of faith in something unknown, but only because there is nowhere else to go.

– love & disco,

dirty chai