The latest studio album to come from Swiss-artist Aïsha Devi, her third overall, is an expertly measured sonic elixir of weighted drum beats and melodic textures. It’s near impossible to pigeon hole the record into just one genre, spreading itself across electronica, ambient, hiphop, and bass, it’s a little bit more OST-like than your standard club-focused album. Throughout the tracklist we see Aïsha serve up a contrasting display of crunching distortion and glass-like transients, both built from
flawlessly clean samples and well programmed instruments. Her use of empty space is equally as impressive, letting different sounds breathe independently. She carries momentum with reverb tails and effect-soaked vocals, which give way to multi-layered harmonies and prolonged, emotive progressions. Overall it’s a project completely absent of any obvious hooks or trend following, steered towards the individual goals of a creator with a story to tell. The 10-track LP is out now on fabric-affiliated imprint Houndstooth.
Where to start:
Dimensional Spleen: Pitched up vocal hooks are paired with dense drum hits
Immortelle: Flickering synth work met with heavily processed vocals
Unborn Yet Alive: Colourful vocal harmonies breath through string melodies
Previous from Aïsha Devi:
DNA Feelings LP (2018, Houndstooth)
Of Matter and Spirit LP (2015, Houndstooth)
If you like this then check out:
Lotic – Water LP (2021, Houndstooth)
KABLAM – Confusía LP (2019, Kasja Blom)
Aïsha Devi – Death Is Home is out now on Houndstooth.