Desire Marea is one half of FAKA, a South African performance art duo with numerous connections to the fashion world. FAKA released material through the NON Worldwide collective and worked with Chino Amobi, Fever Ray, and Africa Express, while Marea collaborated with Angel-Ho on her 2016 EP Emancipation. FAKA's 2017 EP Amaqhawe aligned them with Durban's gqom scene, backing their overtly queer, Zulu-language lyrics with tense, heavy rhythms. Marea's first solo release, Desire, is an ambitious art-pop album which explores a vast range of deep emotions, with a wider sonic scope than FAKA's previous work. Marea's carefully sculpted productions draw from various post-industrial and experimental club styles as well as pop, jazz, and soul, and most of the songs have remarkable pacing, swelling up with intensity and sometimes dropping out for some of the artist's most tender, vulnerable expressions. "Zibuyile Izimakade" starts out blending trance arpeggios with twitchy footwork rhythms, then clears through midway for Marea's gorgeous operatic soul vocals, evolving into an ambient space drama with galloping drums. "You Think I'm Horny" is just devastating, expressing severe loneliness and a deep longing that goes beyond lust. The beats don't develop until a full run-through of the song's lyrics, and when they do, they're a jittery, piled-up rush. "Tavern Kween" is a bit steadier, with Marea's Jimmy Somerville-meets-Seal vocals smoothly flowing over an atmospheric house beat, and circular horn patterns elevating the mood. "Uncle Kenny" sounds like bubbly synth pop with hazy dubstep beats, as Marea's understated lyrics beg for acceptance and understanding as they're dealing with constant loss. Other tracks feel like a much deeper plunge into the dark side of their soul, like the noisy IDM of "Thokozani," and especially the sound poetry mini-opera "Studies in Black Trauma." Opening with demonic growling, including the menacing shout "I wanna take your life," the track intensifies to a fever pitch, then unexpectedly gives way to almost comically ebullient synths, while Marea delivers Zulu lyrics with gqom-style cadences, minus the beats. When Marea returns to English lyrics over squirting, rippling synth textures, the song becomes a plea for romantic companionship with someone who lit a flame in their heart. The entire album is a challenging, yet absolutely enthralling experience which illustrates its title subject in a powerful way.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo