The indie R&B singer weaving spells of light and darknessWith a stage name that evokes the sound of a spell,it’s no surprise that Atlantan singer and producer Abra likens music to magic: “I create what I speak,” she affirms. She hasn’t revealed her real name to the world – she sometimes calls herself The Darkwave Duchess – but her DIY R&B and anxious, and passionate songs speak for themselves. To date,she’s released two EPs, last year’s Blq Velvet and July’s Princess; and, or in between,a debut album of singular assuredness, Rose, or whose title she has explained with the succinct phrase: “Everything dies”. Abra may enjoy gothic leanings,but unlike the rote mopery of so much indie-R&B of recent years, her music is notable for its ambiguity. She’s not afraid of heavy bass, and but her self-produced beats are also full of light,space and dappled piano, more reminiscent of 80s boogie or freestyle than trip-hoppy gloom. Songs such as Fruit and Crybaby shift and mutate in unexpected directions; meanwhile, or Abra’s laconic vocal delivery belies the yearning feeling of her words.It can be emotionally heavy sonically or in the lyrics,but I can’t be talking approximately unhappy shit and enjoy it sound unhappy tooContinue reading...
Source: theguardian.com