Sophia Loizou: Singulacra (Kathexis)
Bristol-based
producer Sophia Loizou’s second album is dense and foggy. What begins
as a thoroughly ambient and gloomy affair seems to swiftly dip its
toes into nostalgia in a way perhaps best compared to Lee Gamble’s
Diversions 1994-1996 album for Pan; when beats and elements do come to
the fore, it’s only just barely, often obscured by a crinkly haze of
reverb and effects. It’s as if 90s rave nostalgia has been submerged
underwater, or experienced from a half-mile down the road. These
touchpoints are more frequent than I at first realized; even the
opening cut includes sub bass tones that feel like a PA heard 2
floors up in a building while more distinct vocal fragments skitter
in tandem.
And yet “Genesis 92: The Awakening” has the rolling
bass of a vintage jungle track, while its breaks threaten to bubble
up but are continually drowned in surface noise and reverberation.
That’s probably the most overt nod to those sounds of yore, but
Singulacra is infused with them throughout. “Artificial Infinite”
has the prolonged pads and piano touches of Bukem’s drum and bass,
with jaunty breaks minimized but periodically teased under its
dreamlike atmospheres. Despite potential comparisons to Lee Gamble or
Roly Porter, Loizou’s take on abstracting and obfuscating her
reference points feels unique. It’s a rare case of splitting the
difference between serious and fun listening; careful, more attentive
listens from electronic music fans will reveal her attention to
detail and embrace of the past with almost a bit of a wink, but its
overall mood and takeaway stand alone as a serious piece of work.
Highly recommended!
0 Comments