The Artist Dania: Listless β Personal Experimental Pop Shaped by Medical Night Shifts
In addition to crafting evocative digital compositions, this Baghdad-born, Barcelona-based artist Dania furthermore works night shifts as an emergency doctor. Those nocturnal hours serve as the inspiration for her latest release Listless: each of the seven songs were composed and produced in the early hours, while the artwork features the slender flower of the Trichosanthes cucumerina, a plant that flowers exclusively after dark. But, there is little trace of the turmoil of her late-night schedule in this music: rather, the record exudes a quiet calm that is sometimes blissful, occasionally eerie.
Converging at a point between trip-hop, ethereal rock and ambient, with a touch of catchy melodies, the textured tracks glide dreamily, driven by washes of synthesizers and, as a new element, drums. A new addition to the artist's typical arrangement, they lend a soft slow-paced kick to a number of the tracks. Its shuffling, murky beat in the track Personal Assistant evokes the 1990s-era bands one group and Seefeel, whereas Car Crash Premonition is the closest things get to intense. Written after an unnerving taxi journey to her studio late one evening, it is simultaneously contemplative and dizzying, ideal for a movie scene.
Other tracks, such as I Know That and Write My Name, are more reminiscent of the artist's past work: stripped back and formless. The final song, A Hunger, has a subaquatic feel, with bubbling and beeping electronics that resemble hospital monitors, blended with altered answerphone-style singing.
The artist's gentle, murmuring vocal is present across almost the entirety of the record. Its words are almost imperceptible as her voice are floating, repeated, stacked, at points barely there entirely. Growing up in a household where singing was discouraged, she has stated that it is an activity sheβs always felt personal. Yet itβs also an inspired choice, enhancing the dream-like haze on this beautiful, personal album.
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