LIVE: Circe – Electric Ballroom, Camden (22.07.24)

Bathed in blue light, dark-pop artist Circe slowly emerged on to the stage at the Electric Ballroom in Camden last week. Stood next to a solitary neon blue crucifix which glowed ominously throughout her set, the London-based musician opened with the effervescent sounds of ‘My Boy Aphrodite’; the repeated lyric “you do kill me, always thrill me” encapsulating the immersive, all-consuming quality of her live performance perfectly.

Supporting American band The Midnight on their recent UK and EU tour, Circe’s blend of dystopian-yet-euphoric dark-pop was the ideal accompaniment for their synth-wave sounds, proved by the packed venue full of the band’s fans who had turned up early to see the emerging artist. Performing a mixture of tracks from her debut EP, She’s Made Of Saints (2020) and her most recent release, Drawing Wings From The Light (2023), her seraphic vocals and cinematic synths oozed vividly through the speakers.

Even without her trademark visuals and backdrop – scattered bunches of artificial flowers reminiscent of Juliet’s tomb in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet, and a montage of footage from films and her own videos – Circe’s theatricality was still as potent as ever. Predominantly written and produced from her bedroom, the drama that underscores Circe’s songs translated beautifully into a more grandiose setting. The glossy, bass-drenched beats of ‘Going Down’ – a song about being infatuated with a cheerleader – hit much harder live, whilst the lucid, intoxicating synths on ‘Ten Girls’ – a song about fuckboys – dripped with defiance. She also treated listeners to a new track, ‘Heaven’s The Other Way’, packed with more of her shimmering electronics and emotive vocals.

It was the formidable sound of ‘Blue Love’, however, that was the true highlight of the set. Described by the artist as a hybrid of her influences, including Karen O and The Cure in their Disintegration era, Circe’s invite to “come take a shot at it / I’ll let you rot with it” dazzled the crowd. As she performed it, she confidently paced across the stage, raising her arms and gesturing to the sky, radiating confidence and true star quality.

Although she would later appear on stage again during The Midnight’s set, Circe closed her performance with ‘Riot Of Sunlight’. As she played her acoustic guitar, a euphoric rush of dizzying electronics swelled around her. Rapturous cheers and applause at the end of her set proved that Circe’s live charm is undeniable. Her neon dreams and cell-tingling dark-pop fantasies are truly best experienced in the flesh.

Follow Circe on Spotify, bandcamp, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter & Instagram

Photo Credit: Zak Watson

Kate Crudgington
@kate_crudge

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EP PREVIEW: Zami Yazeed – ‘Release’

Finding strength in tenderness and catharsis in her confessional songwriting, Maldivian-raised, London-based musician Zami Yazeed pushes through doubt and emerges as a more resilient artist on her upcoming EP, Release. Set to be shared later this year via Village Live Records, the six tracks that form her debut record are poignant reflections on love, shame, autonomy and resistance, all underscored by her considered instrumentation and smooth, emotive vocals.

“The world can be cruel, my darling” Zami earnestly muses on ‘Rest’, the EP’s opening track. Her compassionate acknowledgement is personified through her gentle, atmospheric guitar strums and sympathetic lyrics, both of which lull listeners into a state of calming bliss. This is a feeling that underscores all of the tracks on Release, with Zami’s affecting vocal acting as a benevolent guide through any uneasy or painful sentiments. This is especially true of following track, ‘Conversations I’ll Never Have’.

Her delicate blend of romantic guitar tones, soft percussion and beautiful, lilting string instrumentation and melancholy saxophone notes – which gradually builds to a rush of majestic sound – provides the cathartic release of the imagined ‘Conversations’ Zami alludes to in the title. By blending elements of folk, jazz and traditional Maldivian music, her narrative-led songs manage to simultaneously flow in both a deeply personal and poetically universal vein. Her clear ear for melody also aids this admirable combination. This skill shines through again on ‘Redhan’. Named after a Bioluminescent Plankton in the Maldives, Zami sings in her native language of Dhivehi here. The track is a rumination on homesickness and the healing power of nature, with the yearning quality of her voice transcending any need for direct lyrical translation.

Zami is at her most expressive towards the end of EP. On ‘Guilt’, she asks “and what is love? If it’s not freedom?” – dwelling on the unease of unresolved feelings in the aftermath of a breakup. The penultimate track ‘The Sinner’s Song (Live)’ feels like a companion piece, with more of Zami’s delicate, yet full-bodied instrumentation enabling her to express the complexities of her emotions, as well as continuing to impress listeners with more of her rich vocal range.

Despite it’s somber sound, eponymous track ‘Release’ is a poignant way to bookend a record that has clearly been crafted with great care. It’s refreshingly short too, clocking in at just two minutes and thirty seconds. As a whole, Release is a record that allows Zami to contemplate the troubles that have prompted her writing, and through her genre-blending sounds and vulnerable, yet assertive voice, hopefully it has afforded her the space to resolve them too.

Release will be available to listen to later this year.

Follow Zami Yazeed on Spotify, YouTube, Facebook & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
X: @kate_crudge
Insta: kate_getinherears

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FIVE FAVOURITES: NikNak

The genre-blending sounds of Leeds-based electronic artist, producer, and DJ NikNak are inspired by an eclectic collection of music and media. Her brand new album, Ireti, released via Accidental Records, leans into Afrofuturism, exploring the ways in which humanity and technology intersect, and has narrative crossovers with iconic dystopian films and video games like Blade Runner and Cyberpunk 2077. The record is a distinctive, cell-tingling fusion of jungle beats, jazz nuances, dub, reggae rhythms and cinematic electronics; all of which help to sculpt NikNak’s elusive, yet exciting new sonic universe.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspired them to create music in the first place. We caught up with NikNak to ask about her “Five Favourites” – five tracks that have inspired her songwriting techniques. The thing is, she made so many great recommendations, that we decided to keep them all – so there’s nearly double the amount of tracks for you to sink your teeth into!

Check out her extensive list of choices below, and scroll down to watch the video for NikNak’s latest AI inspired single ‘Pandora’s Box’ featuring AGAAMA at the end of this post…

 

1. Willow Smith – ‘Big Feelings’
There’s these clips of Willow in the studio recording and piecing together elements of her latest album, Empathogen, with Yussef Dayes in there recording drums with her at one point…then I saw her Tiny Desk Concert and it blew me away; especially seeing a mostly all female line up of musicians vibing together. Her re-work of ‘ Wait A Minute’ is so glorious and uplifting. To think that she’s only 23 too!? To end on ‘Big Feelings’ takes me back to Jamiroquai and Herbie Hancock. Watching this performance made me go buy the album and has inspired me to work with more live musicians in the future. Brilliant stuff.

2. Mia Koden – ‘Hot Take’
This tune reinvigorated my love of 140 in recent years and gets bonus points for referencing the histories and all the wonderful things that make 140/dubstep so special. It’s kinda rare nowadays I think to come across music that makes a point of referencing its origins in authentic ways. What Mia has done here is make a track that is 100% her, but I also feel my ancestors through that baseline and multiple drum switch ups.

3. Jlin – ‘Open Canvas’
It was really hard to pick something from Jlin’s album, Akoma. I saw her live for the first time at Bristol New Music Festival alongside Ryoji Ikeda and was blown away by both performanceS, but seeing Jlin use the MPC live was something else entirely. I fully admire her work and she’s someone I’d love to connect with one day. Her music makes me feel nostalgic and warm – big vibes.

4. Loraine James – ‘Gentle Confrontation’
I’m kind of cheating a bit here, because I’d put the album in this too since it’s the same name, but the intro to Loraine’s newest album is beautiful and really imposing of where her sound has taken her in recent years. Picking a tune from her discography at this point is really hard for me, as I’m a big fan of her ever-evolving work. I just love that there’s a sense of play in her work, which is so important and richly evident.

5. Dennis Brown – ‘Get To Love In Time’
Dennis Brown is my fave reggae artist I think, and this song always takes me back to the exact moment I’d heard he passed away. I think this was the first time I’d really had an artist’s death impact me. If I didn’t get into production, I would have become a bass player simply because of reggae and the beautiful grooves underneath all the other instruments. Dub plays a big part in my music I think, whether I realise it or not. All the delays and reverbs, and the noise that comes from all of that, all play important parts in my music consciously and subconsciously, and I love that. RIP Mr. Brown.

6. Missy Elliot – ‘Whatcha Gonna Do’
Her discography is nuts, as we all know, but I’d say my favourite song of hers has to be ‘Whatcha Gonna Do’ from the So Addictive album. Whenever she works with Timbaland, magic happens and I think in hindsight, this era of R&B/Hip Hop really gifted us with a version of Afrofuturistic music in mainstream. This was one of the many tunes that helped me to see that we can literally make music be and look like anything we want, and that we don’t have to follow rules. It’s something we don’t really see now in the same way anymore, but Missy is definitely one of the pioneers of this.

7. Boxcutter – ‘Rusty Break’
Before this tune came into my life, I’d been introduced to DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing’ and Cut Chemist’s ‘The Audience Is Listening’, and loved how they’ve been able to adapt, sample and repurpose classic drum breaks into new patterns and loved that. Then came Burial, and around the same I think came Boxcutter’s ‘Rusty Break’ and he took things to a new level. I think I was in my first year of uni at this point… I don’t know, I feel like I was hearing so much music that everything was influencing me in a variety of ways both in and outside of my studies, particular in my undergrad studies but ‘Rusty Break’ is up there for sure!

8. Burial – ‘Archangel’
I remember sitting in college going through a YouTube dark hole at lunchtime or free period, and I found an anime video someone cut to this track… immediately I was hooked and had to listen to everything Burial had put out at that point. Sampling Ray-J’s vocals in such a dark and atmospheric tune was nuts. The textures and gridless drums were nuts. Burial introduced me to another side of music production, another way to break rules and approach it like a sketchbook instead of it being so regimented.

9. Seed. – ‘Afronaut’
I’m a little bit biased as I’m now a member of Seed., but the first time I heard ‘Afronaut’ it made me an instant fan of them and Cassie’s phenomenal writing skills. All of the time signatures, melodic craziness, everything altogether is next level; and all the ways the keys, chords and tempos change and intertwine with each other throughout the track is very inspiring. Plus, XANA’s verses are just cherries on top. More rules broken here. As someone who can’t read music and didn’t learn to classically play an instrument, hearing talented musicians play such transformative music was another big moment for me I think too.

Thanks to NikNak for sharing her favourite tracks with us!

Watch the video for her latest single ‘Pandora’s Box’ below

NikNak’s upcoming UK Tour Dates 2024
(DJ sets unless otherwise noted. * = Ireti live)
May 23, 24, 25, 26, 28 – Leeds Art Gallery – Inner Ireti immersive installation at Leeds Jazz Festival (DJ set and artist talk at 1pm on May 23)
May 25 – Leeds, Headrow House
May 31st – Birmingham, Centrala,
June 6 – Newcastle, Cobalt Studios*
June 29 – Brighton, Fortune Of War
August 30 – Belgium, Meakusma Festival*
Sept 7 – Utrecht, Gaudemaus Festival

Follow NikNak on bandcamp, Soundcloud, Spotify, Youtube, Instagram, X & Facebook

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INTERVIEW: Brimheim

Multi-instrumentalist Helena Heinesen Rebensdorff is finding strength in self scrutiny. On her second album, RATKING, the Danish-Faroese artist, who performs under the moniker Brimheim, finds catharsis in the contradictions of love and comfort in her own audaciously dark humour.

Released at the end of March, her latest effort is as raw as her 2022 debut offering, can’t hate myself into a different shape, but on RATKING, she vivaciously embraces remnants of shame, hyper-sensitivity and unrequited love, and sets them to a more pop-tinged, melodic backdrop.

Speaking to me on the same day that RATKING officially entered the world (mildly hungover from a panel event and performance the night before to celebrate its release), Brimheim is just as open to elaborating on her processes and reflecting on the highs and lows of creating music as she was when we initially connected two years ago.

Back then, she explained that the songs that formed her debut record were mined from a “deep depression hole” which she experienced towards the latter end of 2020. There are elements of this vulnerability and darkness on RATKING, but the starting point for creating her new album was completely different. Returning to the studio to work alongside esteemed producer, musician and friend Søren Buhl Lassen (Blaue Blume), Brimheim had no demos and no notes to spark the creative process; so the pair began improvising and experimenting with the sounds that eventually formed the tracklist for RATKING.

“I definitely think that I would not have been able to make this record with a new producer,” Brimheim comments about its inception. “It required trust to go to places that we’ve gone, both sonically, and with trying to expand the outer margins of what a Brimheim record can be.” She elaborates on how this was trust was initially built between Søren and herself: “Towards the end of creating the first record, Søren and I made this little interlude called ‘like a wedding’. It’s just this 40 second bit that we jammed in the studio. That worked so well and it was a really cool process. So, when we started making RATKING, we tried to do that for the whole album, and it was mostly a very intuitive process.”

As the pair worked more intensely on these new improvisations together, Brimheim noticed that thematic threads were beginning to appear. “I didn’t have any theme guiding me with what I wanted to do sonically, or lyrically. But after the first few weeks of working in that way, and gathering some songs that came very effortlessly to us, and how we could build on that – that’s when the process got a little more intentional and guided.”

This confidence in each other’s abilities takes many forms on RATKING. Whether it’s the fully fleshed band sound and distinctive instrumentation on tracks like ‘Dancing In The Rubble’ and ‘Keep Bleeding Diamonds’, the infectious pop melodies on singles ‘Literally Everything’, ‘Brand New Woman’ and ‘Normies’, or the sonically more expansive tracks like ‘No Liver, No Lungs’ and ‘Surgeon’, Brimheim and Søren have crafted an eclectic and exhilarating collection of lush alt-pop anthems.

When listening to RATKING, it feels as if Brimheim – as she states herself – is giving ‘Literally Everything’ to her listeners, coolly musing during the track that “It’s easier than I thought / To turn my secrets into your entertainment”. She agrees that her second offering is definitely “a more extroverted and confident record.”

Whilst the confessional lyrics on can’t hate myself into a different shape offered a raw, startling glimpse into the thoughts and struggles of an introverted and often vulnerable narrator, on RATKING, Brimheim gleefully leans into the “unreliable narrator” role. She fluctuates between intense romantic extrapolations and painful sentiments on heartbreak, isolation and neglect – often all within the same song. This is especially true of her current favourite track, ‘Fell Through The Ice’. “It has this quiet desperation,” she explains, “but it ends up spilling out like gall, and there is this humour in how ridiculously pathetic the narrator is in the song.”

We dive a little deeper into some of the album’s other tracks, particularly ‘No Liver, No Lungs’ and ‘Surgeon’, which I offer up as my favourites. “To me, they’re a little bit like the sleeper songs on the album,” she comments. “I think that they have a lot of depth and are really interesting. Those songs are the ones where we’re stripping away most of the ‘traditional rock band’ arrangement. They are mostly electronic.”

“With ‘No Liver, No Lungs’, I don’t remember much about making this song because it was so effortless. We chose to put ‘Surgeon’ after it on the tracklist, because we’d opened up the portal to that sonic world. So we could go a bit further into this world and make it a bit dark, even a little scary. When we created ‘Surgeon’, it was a long day in the studio. It is actually kind of an oppressive soundscape if you listen to it for 8 hours straight. But I think it was such a cool nuance to include. Again, to me, it is expanding the scope of the kind of music that I can make.”

Building on and expanding her artistry as Brimheim naturally extended into the accompanying visuals for RATKING. In the video for her first single ‘Literally Everything’, Brimheim is dressed luxuriously in baby pink, posturing and performing inside a dark barn amongst animals and their excrement – accurately serving the track’s title. She is toying with the duality of perception and expectation; what something looks like vs how it really feels – and how we often mask the truth from others and of course, from ourselves.

Brimheim manages to transform moments of intense discomfort into deliciously dark and humorous visual vignettes. Whether she’s enamoured with a strange, tentacle-headed monster in the accompanying video for candid earworm ‘Normies’, or force feeding herself prawn cocktail at the dining table inside an extravagant mansion in the visuals for ‘Brand New Woman’, she does so with a wry and knowing smile.

“Each of the video’s directors understood that there was a humour to this thing – it’s almost self-deprecating, but not, at the same time,” she elaborates. “It’s something that I love to play around with, and the videos underline that tone of voice in a good way. I was very happy about that.” This comes across especially strongly in the visuals for ‘Brand New Woman’, featuring fellow Danish singer/songwriter Emma Grankvist aka eee gee.

Brimheim’s brief to director Stine Emil was “housewife – but make it creepy”, so they rented a huge mansion north of Copenhagen for the shoot. “Stine really took that idea and ran with it in a super cool way,” she comments, “and I got to act a little bit at the end, which is something I’ve always wanted to try my hand at. That’s actually ended up with me being cast in a feature film that I’ll be shooting later this year too.”

Collaborating with like-minded artists, directors and producers, and the opportunities that arise from these experiences, is something that Brimheim is deeply excited and appreciative of. “It’s challenging and wonderful, and such a weird position to be in, launching your career towards your late twenties and early thirties,” she reflects. This extends to her feelings about her upcoming UK tour, which includes a headline show at The Lexington in London on 22nd May. “I’ve been dreaming about going on a tour like this since I was 12 years old,” she smiles. “I’m 34 now, and it took a long time to get here, but I am extremely excited.”

We end our conversation with a chat about an artist that she’s currently listening to. “I’m obsessed with Tony Njoku, who is just incredible,” she enthuses. “I know him privately and I’ve followed his journey throughout the past 7 years, when we met on a conservatory exchange week. He’s just released a new song, which is a neo-classical piece, but he also does really hard-hitting alternative electronic/alternative pop music. It’s just stellar. I cannot gush about him enough. He’s prolific. He releases so much music, and it’s always so different. He showed me some tracks that he’s working on and I’m like ‘okay, he is going to get very famous, very soon.’ He is just ridiculously good.”

Brimheim’s latest album RATKING is available here

Grab a ticket for her London headline show at The Lexington on 22nd May here

Follow Brimheim on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram & Facebook

Photo Credit: Photo by André Hansen

Kate Crudgington
X: @kate_crudge
Insta: kate_getinherears

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