Ahead of MHYSA’s appearance at Rewire Festival, the musician E. Jane explains to The Quietus’s Aimee Armstrong where they end and the futuristic R&B singer begins.
“Fantasii, the debut album by Mhysa is described by her “as an inversion of Dante’s Inferno”. The record follows her as she ascends to a rapture of dreams and desires, rather than descending to through nine circles of hell. It’s a pursuit to reclaim black femme and black queer power in body and sexuality, an album that sustains an air of contented vulnerability where its protagonist is powerful while remaining fragile.
Mhysa, is not entirely her own entity. She’s the alter-ego of E. Jane, an artist who’s both prolific and eclectic having toured and collaborated with artists such as Laurel Halo and Chino Amobi, working as half of the art duo SCRAAATCH, as well as creating the art exhibition Lavendra. E. Jane (who uses they/them pronouns) defines Mhysa as their alter-ego, an artist who homages black R&B divas with an air of devotional sensuality – with particular reference to Janet Jackson’s Velvet Rope, Donna Summer’s ‘Love To Love You Baby’ and Beyoncé’s ‘Naughty Girl’.
Those influences imply an alternative R&B aesthetic and this could very loosely apply to the tracks ‘Strobe’ and ‘Spectrum’. However, Fantasii shares more common ground with an artist like Klein – who’s known for using vocal looping and manipulation to create unsettling and at times jarring atmospheres.”
MHYSA makes her Dutch live debut at Rewire 2018 on Friday, 6 April.Watch the video for ‘Strobe’ below and learn more about her performance at: MHYSA.
Festival passes and Club tickets are available at:Tickets.
→ https://www.youtube.com/embed/vaOGDMIUtkM