Catalan musician Marina Herlop’s fourth album Nekkuja starts with a bang. On its opening track “Busa,” deep synths pierce through a bouquet of harp strings, choral arrangements and giggling voices. “I always want to include this surprise factor,” she says. “It’s like when you go on a trip, you always need something unexpected to happen, you need to go on a little adventure.” When speaking of the record, Marina often invokes metaphors, comparing the process of making music to architecture, gardening or even playing video games. While her melodies are mysterious and playful, combining elements of devotional and folk music with contemporary electronics, her lyrics are nonsensical, a deliberate choice to allow for the music to speak for itself (Nekkuja is a word she made up). “I don't want to talk about my life, I want to make music that feels aesthetically interesting,” she says. The artist, who counts Björk among her fans, is nonchalant about her recent success. “I know that this has come and this might go at some point, because people might get tired of it or because there's another project that feels hotter at the moment. But the effort I’ve put into music, that growth, never goes away.” We spoke to Marina Herlop about the spiritual nature of creating art, music as a refuge, and trusting her instincts. Read more.
Friday Playlist: Dubble Stuff
As an aural clone to Autre's spring 21 doppelgänger issue, Dubble Stuff is a gamut-running exploration of musical genres that is everything and nothing at once; an avatar perpetually in search of itself.
Friday Playlist: A Meditation on Electronic Artist and Producer The Haxan Cloak (a.k.a. Bobby Krlic) →
Listen to the playlist here.
FRIDAY PLAYLIST: Take A Moment To Dig Deep Into Your Soul With A Playlist Inspired By Arca's New Album, Mutant, A New Aesthetic In Electronic Music →
Click here to listen
[PHOTOS] Björk Mid-Career Retrospective @ MOMA in New York
The Museum of Modern Art presents a retrospective of the multifaceted work of composer, musician, and singer Björk. The exhibition draws from more than 20 years of the artist’s daring and innovative projects and her eight full-length albums to chronicle her career through sound, film, visuals, instruments, objects, and costumes. Autre was granted preview access to the show before the opening, which is March 8th and it runs until June 7th, 2015 at MOMA.