Without a doubt, the fact that Klara Lewis is the daughter of Graham Lewis (Wire, Dome, He Said) is going to garner a significant amount of attention for Ett. While hopefully it helps to spread awareness of its release, by no means does she need to rely on her father’s reputation to garner acclaim for this album. Her penchant for deconstructing dance music into something completely different may be genetically inherited, but this is entirely Klara's show, and a brilliant show it is.
The songs that make up Ett either emphasize fragmented, perceptible rhythmic structures or more open ended, found sound and texture collages of various noises.The two styles sit alongside each other quite well, and they share a similar sensibility of exploration rather than darkness, the latter often being a constant characteristic of similar artists.Rather than focusing on bleak moods, Lewis's sound is one of experimentation, but in an inquisitive, enjoyable manner.
I am hesitant to use the phrase beat oriented to describe these pieces, but it is the best descriptor, even if the term beat is being used in the loosest of senses."c a t t" has Lewis molding crunchy processed sounds into a rudimentary structure with deep bass hits and sampled piano.Even with its distended, abstract feel, it comes across as a unique take on house music.Low end pulses mimic kick drums throughout "Untitled" and, with its complex build and cut up voices, rivals the best work on the Raster-Noton label.
The rhythms on "Shine" are at first insinuated through looped fragments and mixed with lush, melodic passages before coming together into a more conventional structure.The long "Altered" is similar, with Lewis using its 12-plus minute duration to drift between wet, percussive textures and light ambient synth passages, scattering bits of what sounds like conventional techno in here and there to mix things up.Even amidst these changes and variations, however, it stays together nicely as a fully realized composition.
Other pieces on Ett are less rhythmic and instead utilize what sounds like found samples and field recordings, processed and treated to be completely unidentifiable.Islamic calls to prayer and chirping birds make for some of the few discernible elements on "Muezzin," but with the slightly off kilter interlocking loops, I could not help but be reminded of Cabaret Voltaire's "Eastern Mantra" in spirit.
A descending bass melody may hide amongst the static and noise puffs on "49th Hour," but as a whole the mix stays open and spacious, introducing unique treated bits of sound that move dynamically throughout the work.Similarly, there may be a loose semblance of rhythm within "Surfaced," but it is mostly obscured by collaged sounds and destroyed samples to make it all but invisible.
Ett is an astoundingly developed and mature debut record for a new artist working in any genre, but it is especially striking in this more experimental style.There are simply so many pitfalls possible when a new artist works in these abstract realms, and Lewis manages to avoid them all.With its compelling, understated rhythms and captivating mangled samples and recordings, the whole album exceeded my highest expectations.
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