Last Updated on 05/05/2022
Lotic
(They/Their/Them)
From the Latin word lotus, which refers to the flowing of water through an ecosystem, Lotic prefers that their music does not remain stagnant. Instead, through utilising a certain intensity throughout their works, the final product is one which sounds like something no human being should be able to think up.
Probably the highlight of their catalogue is found amidst a 2014 mix promoting the Berlin club Janus, a remix of Drunk in Love – but unlike the remixes you would’ve heard, like an EDM one by Diplo, Lotic’s is instead intercepted from alien transmissions. This remix involves Beyonce’s voice being pitch shifted through an echoey instrumental; whilst still clear what the original song is, the final product is so ethereal that you’re left questioning whether Drunk in Love was the source material.
The final product is one which sounds like something no human being should be able to think up.
Lotic sums up this approach themselves in the clearest way. They state that their music seems otherworldly in order to keep “pushing either new sounds or sounds of people that are maybe consistently overlooked, like people of colour, queer people; you’re not going to see these people consistently making headlines.”
In their own productions Lotic doesn’t spare up on this avant-garde approach. Tracks like Hunted display influences like Laurie Anderson in their approach to overlapping vocals throughout, using them to vocalise as well as lay down lyrics. All the while a deconstructed-pop beat is presented to the listener, over which Lotic can freely experiment with their vocal range.
Having come out as transgender in 2018, it was clear that Lotic was able to find who they really are through their music, in juxtaposition to the Drunk in Love remix they released in 2014, where the style was based upon that of another. Their 2018 album Power was the first which incorporated Morgan’s vocals for the first time, questioning racial as well as sexual identities. This demonstrates the level of freedom and growth they were able to establish through confirming their identity.
What to listen to:
Beyonce // Drunk in Love (Lotic Remix) found at 7:45 – https://soundcloud.com/janusberlin/lotics-damsel-in-distress
Lotic // Love and Light – https://soundcloud.com/lotic/love-and-light
Arca
(She/Her, It/Its)
You may know Arca due to the background influence she’s had on albums like Kanye’s Yeezus, where she has credits for additional production, songwriting and programming, as well as acting as one of the three production consultants on the album. You can probably tell that her style, much like that of Yeezus’, is very industrial in nature, bordering on haunting, an aspect which is further continued through her nightmarish album art, from the Lovecraftian monster on the cover of Mutant, to the simply over exposed face on her self-titled album.
However, beneath these gothic elements of her music, there lies a true beauty in her compositions. On her self-titled album, tracks such as Anoche and Coraje display beautiful overlapping synth leads, which maintain an ethereal nature whilst also revealing themselves as reserved in approach, a dissonance which could be suggested to be one which reflects her own confusion surrounding her gender at the time. This album showed the first time in which she used her own vocals in a project, a move inspired by Bjork, demonstrating how her journey has been shown through her music, gaining more and more self-confidence through each release.
A year after this album release in 2018, Arca came out as non-binary and in 2020 she released her next project KiCk I, a mixture of reggaeton, club music and pop presented in a vision which is uniquely her own. Collaborating with such other powerful artists as SOPHIE, ROSALĺA as well as the iconic Björk, we can see a true advancement in her sound. Whilst maintaining the industrial yet ethereal elements which defined her early work, the songs are more clearly defined in terms of genre, a powerful moment in her also defining who she is. For anyone who’s a fan of FKA Twigs, SOPHIE or even Tommy Genesis, Arca, the self-proclaimed “Diva for a new age” proves herself an essential addition to anyone’s library.
What to listen to:
Arca // Anoche – https://soundcloud.com/arca1000000/anoche-1
Arca // Time – https://soundcloud.com/arca1000000/arca-time
LYZZA
(She/her)
Brazilian-born, Amsterdam based LYZZA grips listeners with her carefully-constructed dream pop vocals crossing over with bubble-gum pop instrumentals, which would often not be amiss on a GRIMES or SOPHIE album. Since her breakthrough in 2017 with the EP Powerplay, she’s cemented her place as one of the new-wave of pop artists who deserve to be on any music-lover’s list.
LYZZA grips listeners with her carefully-constructed dream pop vocals crossing over with bubble-gum pop instrumentals
Her vast diversity as a musician is displayed simply through her output. Tracks collaborating with German industrial outfit, AMNESIA SCANNER, nourish her more ominous side; collabs with Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard are more summer-oriented tracks to chill out to on a warm evening.
This transcendence of genre is also reflected in her DJing, throwing down styles all the way from dancehall to Chicago house/juke to intense broken beats without making it sound awkward – the sign of a true selector. Looking through her Amsterdam Boiler Room comments section, not even a track list can be found – whilst nearly all the comments are demanding IDs on this masterfully mixed set, displaying LYZZA’s exceptional crate-digging abilities when it comes to finding the right tracks for a dancefloor, whilst making the tracks truly her own to mix.
It’s with this exceptional combination of DJ/Producer/Vocalist that LYZZA has set herself out to be one of the most exciting up and coming musicians to enter this ever-expanding scene. She’d already dominated the alternative club scene by the age of 19 and her Powerplay EP was released when she was only 17, a true statement from her that this EP was, indeed, a Powerplay. Her most recent project, DEFIANCE has LYZZA making a statement that she’s carving her own lane in the realm of contemporary pop music. Tracks such as Hellraiser XXX maintain a vibe which whilst reggaeton in tone, also display haunting synth leads, juxtaposed with distant vocals. At only 20, LYZZA is one to keep on your radars for the future.
What to listen to:
LYZZA Boiler Room Amsterdam Set: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T4RDngJsvE
LYZZA // Hellraiser XXX: https://soundcloud.com/lysadasilva/hellraiserxxx
Aïsha Devi
(She/her)
Being born by the Swiss Alps yet growing up in Tibet has led to Aïsha Devi leading one of the more interesting upbringings of any artist about. She describes her music as a result of her spiritual journey which led her to where she is. Appearing on setlists alongside acts such as Demdike Stare, Caterina Barbieri (another woman for another list but heavily recommend listening to her unique electro-ambient) as well as the prolific DJ Stingray, you could think that you could ascertain the style of music which Aïsha gravitates towards. Yet still, her approach to production transcends the traditional borders of techno music; with her incorporation of throat singing into her works, she creates a sound which verges onto the borders between rave music and meditation, an otherworldly experience for those listening.
She creates a sound which verges onto the borders between rave music and meditation, an otherworldly experience for those listening
Aïsha’s voice has always been her most significant tool, having discovered it early as a “shy and lonely child” in the school choir. She is a classically trained soprano singer, and this is evident throughout her works as her range goes beyond that of simply soprano. In Throat Dub she lays down these guttural vibrations of herself throat singing, whilst Adera, the opener for her first album Of Matter and Spirit, is a highly screeched vocal experience above an instrumental which sounds not unlike a Witch House one. This range is influenced by her early discovery of acts such as Aphex Twin and Autechre, which like many others like her, inspired her to make her own shot at following on from the sounds laid down in the early years of IDM.
She creates a safe space in which all are welcome through her beautifully harmonised compositions
Through her early experiences of isolation from the rest of the world, she was able to channel this anger through her music, which she released under her Kate Wax moniker, a project which sounds dissimilar to what you could expect from her now. In 2010 she would turn to meditation in order to truly confront where this anger had come from, having only grown up with her grandmother, never meeting her father, a man with Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian roots and with her mother consistently relocating herself between Tunisia and Switzerland via the Caribbean jungle. It was at this point she travelled to India and Tibet, submersing herself in Tibetan history and culture to search for him. It’s through this journey that the maturity of Aïsha’s music truly stands apart from the rest. Choosing to vocalise in her live performances, she creates a safe space in which all are welcome through her beautifully harmonised compositions.
What to listen to:
Aisha Devi // I’m Not Always Where My Body Is: https://soundcloud.com/houndstoothlbl/aisha-devi-im-not-always-where-my-body-is
Aisha Devi // Inner State of Alchemy: https://soundcloud.com/houndstoothlbl/aisha-devi-inner-state-of-alchemy
Flohio
(She/her)
Ever since Lady of Rage opened up Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle with one of the punchiest verses present in rap to this day, the door was opened for female rappers to not only be accepted on the microphone but also kill it to the extent that South London’s Flohio is doing to this day. Flohio used her music as an escape from the everyday struggle of growing up in SE16, yet whilst an escape from reality, she also demonstrates an understanding of the real world through her music. In projects such as those with London duo, God Colony, she calls anyone to challenge her in lyrical warfare, with her song Fights boasting the sharp hook “They reminisce like this, but bodies that I’m dropping always sound like hits,” which typifies her to the point delivery that she exemplifies across an impressive discography after only four years.
A rap style which borders on lyrical assault, whilst still maintaining its tunefulness throughout.
Having shared stages with acts such as GAIKA and Princess Nokia, as well as having production credits from the one and only Clams Casino, it’s clear that Flohio’s unique punchy style on the microphone is one that can carry her a long way. Her ability to mix a shouted delivery of bars in a way that harmonise with the leftfield productions that she often chooses to rap upon is one which creates a rap style which borders on lyrical assault, whilst still maintaining its tunefulness throughout. Her rhymes fall more under the border of UK Hip-Hop and she also maintains confessional lyrics, such as the deeply personal track “My World” which details a close friend of hers passing away, a track she states she has to hold the tears back while performing. With her song 10 MORE ROUNDS appearing in hit TV/Netflix series Top Boy, and recently releasing a new single in SNUB, she is one to keep your eyes on for the winter months.
What to listen to:
Flohio x God Colony // SE16: https://soundcloud.com/mixmag-1/premiere-god-colony-se16-feat-flohio
Flohio x God Colony // Pounce: https://soundcloud.com/flohio/pounce
