"A carefully crafted, finely thought-out package that shall please all fans of the Geneva-based artist"
More than a year on from its initial release, Aisha Devi’s second album ‘DNA Feelings‘ is most definitely on its way to the pantheon of future classics. The record’s faux-ambient surroundings, its modified vocals and deconstructed rhythms still sound just as fresh today, whilst its tribal aesthetics and trancey atmosphere bear a defined trademark value. Devi is in some way the spiritual child of the less kitschy side of the ’90s electronic world music.
Clocking at almost 25 minute long, her new five-tracker ‘S.L.F.’ is an excellent expansion to that album, and the collection here presented is a lot more evocative than what the average extended player may be able to convey. Devi here offers some interesting updates on her earlier ideas: while ‘DNA Feelings‘ set up a calmer, static kind of motion tied with bold storytelling qualities, ‘S.L.F.‘ finds her confidently revving up the engines onto further club-friendly horizons.
‘I’m Not Always Where My Body Is’ is probably her best piece to date. The quick-shifting drum patterns show Devi’s world under a variety of angles, leaving the listener in a daze but begging for the ride to start over again and again. ‘Uupar-Theory’ is a fine slice of monochrome, hyper-futuristic trap, offering a glimpse of what pop music may be in Devi’s parallel reality. Meanwhile, ‘Teta 7hz (Tool)’ could well make for a lost chapter of ‘DNA Feelings‘, and ‘The Favor Of Fire’ stamps on the accelerator again in an epic last ditch effort.
It is worth noticing how the last minute is almost bare-boned banging techno, but even the ultimate seconds bear the aesthetic seal of Aisha’s most exquisitely detailed sound design and vivid dramatic tension. A carefully crafted, finely thought-out package that shall please all fans of the Geneva-based artist.
‘S.L.F.’ is out now via Houndstooth. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
TRACKLIST
1. I’m Not Always Where My Body Is
2. Two Serpents
3. Uupar-Theory
4. Teta 7hz (Tool) feat. DeForrest Brown Jr.
5. The Favor Of Fire
Discover more about Aisha Devi and Houndstooth on Inverted Audio.