Raw Space

Description

Raw Space is rooted in chaos and chance, sensuality and intensity - it is an album whose sound is both strangely free and tightly controlled. Already established as a genre-bending DJ, and even nicknamed "demon of the Nile" by Ugandan politicians after a flamboyant performance at the Nyege Nyege festival in September 2019, Authentically Plastic, a sonic enchantress based in Kampala, Uganda, brings to her quirky debut album the knowledge of a digger, the intent of an activist, and the playfulness of an artist. As a DJ and producer, Authentically Plastic is drawn to the idea of chance as a creative tool - opposing the notion of the all-knowing genius and approaching art instead as a facilitator that unravels parallel and disparate rhythmic events. Her musical process involves starting from chaos and then attempting to shape those pulpy structures into poly-rhythmic mutations, drawing inspiration from the innovative musical landscape of East Africa and enriching it with an exploratory sense of surrealism. On the opening track "Aesthetic Terrorism," rough industrial rhythms clash mechanically with dissonant synth hits and acid arpeggios. There is a slight spark of Detroit's chromatic afrofuturism, but bathed in neon light, reflecting Africa's contemporary electronic revolution. Authentically Plastic's productions have a sense of thematic coherence, but their countless influences are reduced to ashes, leaving inverted impressions and ghostly rhythms: the overloaded harmonic clatter of "Anti-Fun" echoes Ugandan kadodi modes while simultaneously reflecting the raw endurance of Container or Speaker Music. The centerpiece "Buul Okyelo," on the other hand, is as rhythmically twisted as Slikback or Nazar, but juxtaposes kinetic dancefloor pulses with chaotic microtonal ritual cycles. In writing Raw Space, Authentically Plastic found herself fascinated by sonic flatness. She realized that in Western art, there is an obsession with depth of field that translates into music, stripping it of any intensity. The album is an example of the power that can be reclaimed when depth is dropped, allowing sounds to rub against each other carnally and give birth to something fresh and unexpected.