ARSIA by Some Pretend to Whisper

Watch the music video for "Five girls" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXHTD7nlIy0

Barely a year after their first album, whose whispered vocal harmonies, destructured lo-fi phantasmagorias and half-hazy, half-haunted atmospheres reminded us of the textured productions of Odd Nosdam, the "hauntology" of Leyland Kirby or Boards of Canada, the Lynchian soundtracks of Angelo Badalamenti and the most psychedelic and experimental projects of Guillermo Scott Herren (let's say Risil rather than Prefuse 73), Perkin Warbek and Stakha are back with ARSIA, a new record just as dreamlike but perhaps more refined which at times revives the glitch-hop aesthetic dear to the former (as shown by his participation to our Twin Peaks tribute compilation a few years ago). Delicately mistreated samples, warped instrumentations, repeated loops, liquefied vocals, scraps of arrangements here and there, abstract swarming, analog tape textures and a few minimalist beats cleverly distilled from hip-hop influences... these are some of the ingredients used by Some Pretend to Whisper to shape its strange daydreams, whose mystique becomes brighter on ARSIA, as if touched by the first light of the morning while the last disturbing feelings of agitated sleep persist.

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Un an après leur premier album dont les harmonies vocales susurrées, les fantasmagories lo-fi déstructurées et les atmosphères mi-brumeuses mi-hantées nous évoquaient pêle-mêle les productions texturées d'Odd Nosdam, l'hantologie de Leyland Kirby ou Boards of Canada, les BOs lynchiennes d'Angelo Badalamenti ou encore les projets les plus inclassables et psyché de Guillermo Scott Herren (Risil plutôt que Prefuse 73, disons), Perkin Warbek et Stakha remettent le couvert avec ARSIA, second opus tout aussi onirique mais peut-être plus épuré qui renoue par moments avec l'esthétique glitch-hop chère au premier (cf. sa participation à notre compil hommage à Twin Peaks il y a quelques années). Samples délicatement malmenés, instrumentations gondolées, loops en mode repeat, vocalises liquéfiées, bribes d'arrangements épars, grouillements abstraits, textures de bandes analogiques et quelques beats minimalistes aux influences hip-hop savamment distillées... autant d'ingrédients pour les étranges rêveries de Some Pretend to Whisper, dont la mystique se fait ici plus lumineuse, comme effleurée par les premières lueurs du matin tandis que persistent les dernières impressions malaisantes d'un sommeil agité.

Tracklist

1.	Cenotes ( explorate )	3:35

2.	If Arsia were	2:24

3.	Reddish	1:52

4.	Anything real	3:58

5.	Woody	2:55

6.	Five girls	4:01

7.	Sulfur habits	2:21

8.	IV	2:12

9.	Rouge	4:04

10.	A much darker view	4:08

11.	Walking up the mass	2:07

12.	Cenotes ( contemplate )	3:33

Credits

released May 1, 2021

All songs composed by Stakha and Perkin Warbek.
Keys and vocals : Stakha.

Artwork : Stakha.

License

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.