Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: Andrei Eremin & Kučka – “Anhedoniac”

“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?”

“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

Categories
Classic Album Review

Soundbites: Jitwam – “I’m a Rock”

I’m a Rock” is a track from Jitwam’s 2019 album “HONEYCOMB.”

I would say I heard it far too late in life, but I think I actually might have found it at the perfect time: the height of autumn, driving up a windy mountain road, being caressed by cold air and cedar wood smoke. It was the only song I listened to for about 72 hours.

It’s sultry and bluesy, a formless tango in orange floodlight from the jump: a funky little cowbell beat and backing synths like molasses, both moving together in viscous ecstasy. At around one minute and twenty-six seconds is an inquisitive gliding melody. Inarguably my favorite part; it’s intoxicating, it reminds me of the ceaseless groove we commit to as humans, up and down and high and low again.

Its warmth is not limited to its sound. Jitwam writes about wading through time, trying to find a more sustainable source of peace than lazy, fleeting highs:

“In the middle of the ocean / Life is here in slow motion / I’m a rock, and I’m destined to find / I’m a rock and I’m going to clear my mind / of these feelings, these feelings.” 

Simplistic enough in their presentation, the lyrics touch on a spiritual desire that doesn’t quite require eloquence or extravagant rituals. With enough replays, it then becomes something of a chant.

“I’m a Rock” so gracefully weaves between genres. It’s patchwork soul—lo-fi like indie and smooth like house—and it humbly brings something new to the table. Through the right headphones, its ambient seduction is an affair with the ears in full bloom.

Check out Jitwam’s other work here.

Categories
New Album Review

“Things Don’t Always Go the Way You Plan:” Celebrating 10 Years of Flume

To commemorate his tenth year as Flume, Harley Streten put out an old unreleased track on November 6, 2022: “Slugger 1.4 [2014 Export.WAV].” The track strongly resembles the warm, grainy, not-quite-polished songs found on Flume’s self-titled album, released in 2012. Shortly after, on February 8, 2023, fans were gifted an entire mixtape of unreleased tracks on “Things Don’t Always Go the Way You Plan.”