Dark Sky Reserve

Description

The music of Robin Kester, based in Rotterdam, flourishes in moments of silent discomfort. After her 2020 "mini-album" "This Is Not A Democracy," Kester was praised for her moving blend of chamber pop and psychedelia in her debut album "Honeycomb Shades" (2023), which was named Dutch album of the year by the newspapers NRC and de Volkskrant and nominated for best Dutch album by 3voor12. Today, Kester returns with her second album "Dark Sky Reserve" via Memphis Industries; a soundtrack for all the thoughts that surface once silence settles in. "Dark Sky Reserve" is Kester's most artistically focused album to date, combining rich, layered humanity in the music with minimalist lyricism. With the help of producer Ali Chant and a variety of other collaborators, including Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Rozi Plain, Kester balances scenes of idyllic happiness in the "magical and strange" "Talybont-on-Usk" with existential questions in "Departure." Written during late-night recording sessions in Bristol, "Dark Sky Reserve" is the result of Kester's writing from a place of regained clarity: "I could see myself as I am."