The Fader’s Aimee Cliff travels to Berlin to meet Michigan-born electronic artist Laurel Halo and explore how concrete poetry and dark comedy shaped her most positive album to date.
“On a Tuesday afternoon in the first week of June, Laurel Halo and I get lucky when we stroll over from Fehrbelliner Platz station, her bright blue coat mirroring the color of the clear sky. Laurel orders two papaya salads in German. The electronic artist has lived in Berlin for three years now — she moved from New York, after growing up in Michigan — and the easy pace of the city contributed somewhat to the loose-limbed feel of her new music. As she puts it, “Berlin is the kind of city where you can afford to take your time.”
Dust is the electronic artist’s third album for the pioneering label Hyperdub, following 2013’s sprawling techno LP, Chance of Rain. But the new album’s closest counterpart is Laurel’s critically acclaimed 2012 debut, a vocal-led ambient pop record that trod the uncomfortable territory of trauma, memory, and sickness. On Dust, Laurel once again places her vocals in the foreground, and eases her production into the shape of off-kilter songs. But the effect is more dynamic: grooves shuffle in and out of focus, acoustic percussion and piano chords meet woozy synth lines, and multiple voices appear to converse with one another. (The album also features vocals from New York-based electronic pop artist Lafawndah, London-based experimentalist Klein, and Berlin-based writer and artist Michael Salu.)”
Laurel Halo headlines our special pre-festival edition of Rewire x Korzo on Friday, 2 March. Also on the bill is French multi-instrumentalist Colleen. Listen to ‘Jelly’ from Laurel Halo’s critically-acclaimed new album ‘Dust’ below and learn more about her show at: [P]Rewire x Korzo.
[P]Rewire x Korzo tickets are available at:Tickets.