Browsing Tag

dark trip hop

Relinquish control and uphold the unknown with Laura Brehm’s latest electronica single, Wonder, featuring Nikonn.

Posted on 27 April 2023

Portishead and PJ Harvey can scarcely hold a candle to the electronica songstress Laura Brehm after the release of her latest single Wonder, featuring Nikonn. Ethereal yet tangibly resounding in equal measure, the track is scintillated through the domineeringly demure vocal lines to sonically prove how sweet life is if you maintain an innocent sense of wonder. All too often, we’re caught up in the obsession of seeing the full picture and understanding every stroke that created it; Wonder, in all its artful ingenuity, gives you permission to relinquish all-encompassing knowledge and softly uphold the unknown.

In addition to creating her own music, Brehm has released almost 100 collaborations on labels including Universal, Electronic Bird Records and NCS; the innovatively sophisticated writer, singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist has turned her hand to swathes of different genres, but whatever she touches always turns to philosophical gold.

Check out the official music video for Wonder on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Melodic bass meets noise pop in Heasuence’s latest experimental electro single, I Find

Posted on 4 May 2022

Melodic bass artists and producer, Heasuence has unleashed their evocatively charged trip-hop-tinged single, I Find. Despite the lo-fi production, it’s an artfully expressive electronica triumph. When the bass hits, I Find evolves from a melodiously downtempo and almost meditative sonic landscape with elevated indie-pop vocals into a monolithic cage of volatile turbulence.

The avant-garde and emotionally reflective elements certainly weren’t lost on us. It does what so tracks fail to do and brings you right into the artist’s psyche. And perhaps more importantly, in our commodified aural reality, it leaves an unforgettable mark on your consciousness with the ethereal versing of lyrics “I find peace in mystery” before the bass tears the track to asunder.

I Find is now available on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Case Watson spins a phantasmal fairy-tale in her folky art-pop single, Hollow Tree

Posted on 17 March 2022

In her latest single, Hollow Tree, the ethereal art-pop artist Case Watson, well and truly came into her alchemic stride. With cinematic electronic obscurity nestled against folkish mysticism and a few caustically volatile elements thrown in for good measure, Hollow Tree moves beyond an aural experience. Its arcane air sets your imagination alight and tears you away from realism in the process.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Emilie Autumn opted for nuance instead of archaic hysteria, you will get a good idea of the phantasmal bliss found in this darkly electrifying lyrical fairy-tale. We’re officially obsessed.

Hollow Tree is now available to stream on Spotify. Or head over to Case Watson’s official website for more info.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Close to Monday – Guns (Biicla Remix): Indulgently Dark Trip Hop

Posted on 30 October 2021

The rising trend in dark trip-hop seems to be a damning sign of the times, but the breaking electronica artist, Close to Monday, made our bleak human experience worth it with her ethereally powerful single, Guns.

The Biicla Remix of the single will undoubtedly appeal to fans of Portishead, Beach House and Hooverphonic, but there’s plenty of authenticity pulsating with the beats in this indulgently morose track. The vocals are under just enough reverb to ensure the synergy with the driving downtempo beats, but not enough to stifle the evocative power of her dark yet soulful vocal timbre.

The Biicla Remix of Guns is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Aiko Aiko became the definition of etherealism with their latest release, Al Lat.

Posted on 7 October 2021
Aiko Aiko

Prepare your dark ambient trip-hop playlists for the latest release, Al Lat, from the alt-electronica duo, Aiko Aiko; it proves just how readily we bound around the word ‘ethereal’. When you’re confronted with a soundscape as phantasmal as AI Lat there are few ways to aptly allude to just how ensnaring the delicately commanding textures are.

The artist has been infusing their alchemic mash of soft synths, organs, driving electronic beats and intricate piano melodies onto the airwaves since 2012. With a brand of emotionally intellectual catharsis similar to Warpaint, Portishead and Widowspeak, it comes as no surprise that they have captivated an international fanbase with their psychedelic reprising progressions.

Al Lat will officially release on October 7th. You can check it out for yourselves by heading over to the artist’s website or SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lajze – Glue: Meet the Lydia Lunch of this Generation

Posted on 8 July 2021

London-based British/Polish singer-songwriter and composer Lajze has released her latest indulgently obscure, avant-garde trip-hop EP, Red Sea. Any fans of Lydia Lunch, David Lynch’s phantasmal aural works and Marc Hurtado will want to experience the mesmerizingly dark soundscapes for themselves.

The best introduction to the electronically-crafted no-wave release is the lead single, Glue; that is exactly how it will stick to your synapses as you drink in the haunting atmosphere and feel the chill of the ominous droning bass around the glitchy beats. The sensual vocals add even more ethereal ambience to the single as they work around striking meta poetry which serves as lyricism.

Glue is now available to stream via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast