For his fourth solo album, Arca has decided to display all her facets. For the Venezuelan producer, who now identifies as a trans woman, expression isn’t just about musical marketing but an introspective journey. “We all have multiple personalities. There was a clear intention [on the album] to allow every self to express itself [. . .and] allow for modulation between them in a spontaneous way. There is no such thing as normal.” Such fluidity is proven on the first track Non Binary, where the vocals change in an evolutive way.
Recruited for her sense of sound design by Kanye West and Franck Ocean, Arca has a unique skill for expressing her emotions in a digital format, often even mathematical, like in the song featuring Catalan singer Rosalía whose voice is broken down and reassembled on the cyberpunk reggaeton KLK. Her reunions with Björk, with whom Arca produced the album Utopia in 2017, are particularly good (Afterwards), as well as her collaboration with SOPHIE which should satisfy the expectations of all futuristic pop fans. An onion of an album, which will leave you in a disorientated state of marvel. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz