For their debut on Swiss experimental club label Danse Noire Berlin based Cuban-German artist Réelle offers a glimpse into a world of broken beauty, emerging from personal pain to produce the cathartic Kissing Myself. A highly personal work,the four compositions are offerings of acceptance and release as Réelle attempts to navigate their art through schizophrenia and queer erotic practice.
“Kissing Myself can be seen as a positive statement encouraging unconditional self love. As we are hopefully progressing towards a future utopia, I think it is crucial to first accept and embrace our true nature as human beings and individuals in order to be able to spread positivity.”
The eponymous opener is a glistening ballad partially disguised as a club -ready anthem. Once the heavy bass stabs peel away, the lyrical lead melody reveals an emotional depth which takes centre stage through the rest of the EP. The gorgeous vignette ‘Smile,’ with its slow -motion march, develops its richness through its cascading synths before the joyous ‘Pink’ juxtaposes alien R&B loops, choral samples and scattershot drum interventions, reinventing and reimagining the composition as a lonely vocal falls into focus. The final track by Réelle ‘God,’ featuring Cuban -American artist Lamb Kebab, elevates the refrain “Bitch, I am a God,” wrenching the masculine archetype into a feminine archetype above undulating microtonal harmonies, before being abruptly disappearing.
The EP closes with a remix by fellow Berliner and exponent of club experimentations Dis Fig: ‘All I Have Left’ responds to Réelle’s lush productions by dragging their work back into the club with a darkened tunnel vision seeping back into the mindset.
Key to Réelle’s sound is the practice of painting textures and melodies directly into their productions, transferring Réelle’s digitalbrushstrokes into florid melodies. Kissing Myself exposes the path which Réelle has begun to explore with their second album, Ghamccccxc vRR, released on Danse Noire shortly after.
RIP
credits
released May 11, 2018
Mastered by Helmut Erler at D&M
Artwork by Niels Wehrspann
supported by 20 fans who also own “Kissing Myself”
Literally sickening record and wonderful message and cause and cant wait for more collaborative projects like this, worth whatever dollar you have.
Esto si valio la pena! gracialabendicida
supported by 17 fans who also own “Kissing Myself”
It's rare for music to truly convey a concept, but this sounds exactly like it promises to. Melodious, textured, frightening, unique, no tropes here. Patryk