On 'Love Hallucination' Jessy Lanza is in control as a songwriter and producer, flexing her skills in the studio and rebuilding her sound, taking chances with production and energy in all directions, from club-ready, to downbeat and sultry, with the theme of trusting yourself in the moment and using intuition as a compass driving the record forward. ‘Love Hallucination’ is the sound of an artist in bloom, an album of big emotions and big songs, with direct, personal lyrics, such as the upbeat but panicked opener 'Don't Leave Me Now' and the 2-step drama of 'Midnight Ontario', or 'Limbo', an ear worm disco stomper about produced with Marco 'Tensnake' Niermeski. Also featured as co-producers are David Kennedy (Pearson Sound), adding slick arrangements for the club, long-time collaborator Jeremy Greenspan (Junior Boys), and Paul White. ‘Love Hallucination’ is a bold and immediate record from Jessy Lanza, her most clear, authentic and best to date.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Jessy Lanza brings us her most flamboyant, widescreen release yet, with soaring synths and scattered percussion beautifully brought together into a startlingly modern soundclash of R&B, synth-pop and driven dancefloor electronica. A big stylistic leap forwards for Lanza, and another banger for one of the best labels in the alt 'tronica business.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Don’t Leave Me Now
A2. Midnight Ontario
A3. Limbo
A4. Casino Niagara
A5. Don’t Cry On My Pillow
B1. Big Pink Rose
B2. Drive
B3. I Hate Myself
B4. Gossamer
B5. Marathon
B6. Double Time

Jessy Lanza has always made music that perfectly suits the mood – whether it’s the heads-down trance of the dancefloor or that hazy, post-club bliss. It’s no surprise for an artist that takes electronic music’s most intoxicating sensibilities and effortlessly reimagines them as experimental pop and R&B. The Canadian singer, producer and DJ from Hamilton, Ontario, has trodden an inspiring path which led to 2013’s boldly minimalist debut Pull My Hair Back, released on revered UK label Hyperdub. Gorgeously complex follow-ups Oh No – shortlisted for Canada’s prestigious Polaris Prize – and 2020’s All the Time crowned her as a singular talent in the left-of-pop sphere.

It’s with this genre-bending approach that Jessy Lanza presents her entry for the DJ-Kicks series – a sprawling, club-indebted odyssey that draws you in closer and closer with each listen. Recorded this summer, the mix is an incisive snapshot of her emotional landscape during the past 18 months. In 2020, with nothing but a van, a few personal belongings and her musical gear, Lanza and her partner relocated from New York City to the Bay Area to ride out the pandemic. A change of scenery, buoyed by the slower pace of their new home, gave her a fresh perspective during a worldwide screeching halt.

Jessy Lanza’s DJ-Kicks mix also arrives as a divine stroke of timing. As the world slowly starts to re-open, it’s a portal into the ecstatic energy of the dancefloor; an emblem of genuine healing – both personal and communal – that transports listeners to a state of pure euphoria.

TRACK LISTING

CD
01 Jessy Lanza - Guess What
02 Jessy Lanza - Seven 55 (feat. Loraine James) [DJ-Kicks]
03 Jessy Lanza - Wet X3 (feat. Taraval)
04 DJ Spookie - Twilite
05 Michael J. Blood - Lip Biter
06 Mr. Ho - Bail-E
07 Crystal - Jungli - La [Joe Howe Club Mix]
08 Masarima - Freak Like U [Club Mix]
09 Golden Donna - Foaming
10 Mafia Boyz - Teaspoon La Qoh
11 Markus Mann - I'm Losing
12 Jim C. Nedd - Maleka
13 Maarten Van Der Vleuten - Nightshift
14 Secret Werewolf - Yage
15 Grain - Untitled B2
16 Gant-Man - Distorted Sensory (Loefah's South Side Rmx)
17 G3 - Drum 2 [Peanut]
18 Lolina - A Path Of Weeds And Flowers
19 Dee Jay Nehpets - Na Na Na
20 Oyubi - 140yaku
21 DJ SWISHA - If The Shoe Fits
22 Jessy Lanza - Heaving Featuring Taraval
23 TAH - Beat It Up Like (These Drums)
24 Kanyon - IDFW Snakes
25 CN - Anubis
26 The Raining Heart - Raining Heart

2LP
A1 Jessy Lanza - Guess What
A2 Jessy Lanza - Seven 55 (feat. Loraine James) [DJ-Kicks]
A3 Jessy Lanza - Wet X3 (feat. Taraval)
A4 Oyubi - 140yaku
B1 Jim C. Nedd - Maleka
B2 Jessy Lanza - Heaving (feat. Taraval)
B3 Dee Jay Nehpets - Na Na Na
B4 DJ SWISHA - If The Shoe Fits
C1 CN - Anubis
C2 Lolina - A Path Of Weeds And Flowers
C3 Mafia Boyz - Teaspoon La Qoh
C4 The Raining Heart - Raining Heart
D1 Michael J. Blood - Lip Biter
D2 Markus Mann - I'm Losing
D3 Mr. Ho - Bail-E
D4 Golden Donna - Foaming

‘All The Time’, Jessy Lanza's first album since 2016's ‘Oh No’, is the most pure set of pop songs that she and creative partner Jeremy Greenspan have recorded, reflective and finessed over time and distance. Innovative juxtapositions sound natural, like rigid 808s rubbing against delicate chords in ‘Anyone Around’, subtle footwork flutter giving a nervous energy to ‘Face’, unusual underwater rushes underpinning ‘Baby Love’.

The songs also sound more “live” than ever before. Jessy’s voice is treated, re-pitched and edited on songs like ‘Ice Creamy’ and gestural sounds seem to respond to her lyrics in songs such as ‘Like Fire’, which reward the listener on repeated plays. More than previous albums, the lyrics on ‘All The Time’ became an important focus for Jessy too, channelling the negativity of anger and frustration arising from some significant changes in her personal situation into the text. These lyrics sometimes process raw feelings, which aren't obvious to begin with, but are soon felt, standing in stark contrast to the cushioned settings of the music. ‘All The Time’ has ended as a triumph and an abstracted diary of a sometimes difficult, but enduring friendship and creative relationship, and it’s their best work yet.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Jessy Lanza has made many waves in the music world, finding a perfect home in the home of off-piste electronic adventures, Hyperdub. This one sees Lanza in a more playful mood, encompassing aspects of synthpop, future beats and r&b. It's a beguiling and exciting listen, and a superb return for Lanza.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Anyone Around
A2. Lick In Heaven
A3. Face
A4. Badly
A5. Alexander
B1. Ice Creamy
B2. Like Fire
B3. Baby Love
B4. Over And Over
B5. All The Time

Jessy Lanza's second album 'Oh No' is addressed to her own constant nervousness. The pressure of music making, which used to calm her nerves, has led to a whole new world of contingencies that stoke the anxiety mill. The exclamation 'Oh No', for Jessy, marks yet another incident of randomness interrupting her tranquillity. All of which seems at odds with the confidence and spontaneity of this second album.

Made in her hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, with production partner Jeremy Greenspan from Junior Boys, the plaintive, reverb drizzled mood of the first album has all but given away to a more direct, self-assured and joyful set. As with many artists whose hometown lie off the usual network of cultural hotspots, 'Oh No' is driven positively by the idea of making music that isn't inspired by where she lives. Instead, the album resonates more with the philosophy of experimental pop of Japanese 80s electro outfit Yellow Magic Orchestra and Jessy's breathless, pitched vocals are reminiscent of YMO collaborator Miharu Koshi. Playfully laced with cascading arpeggios, crispy drum machines and breezy songs, 'Oh No' has an infectious energy that has been brewing in her live shows since her first album. As Jessy says ‘I want to make people feel good and I want to make myself feel good’.

The album oscillates between the languid, coiled, arpeggiated slow jams of ‘New Ogi’, 'Going Somewhere', 'Begins', 'Could Be U', 'I Talk BB' and the low slung 808 groove of 'Vivica', where Jessy’s vocal gymnastics run wild over minimal drums and synths, and the catchy upbeat boogie of ‘VV Violence’, ‘Never Enough’, 'Oh No' and the high point of 'It Means I Love You’ which has a sparse addictive bounce with a pitched up vocal refrain and a nod to Shangaan electro. The trials of dealing with nervousness are also encrypted into the artwork, such as the plants that recur in the sleeve and videos. As Jessy remarked, "I became obsessed with surrounding myself with tropical plants. I've been convinced that the air quality in our house is slowly killing us. It might sound crazy but the plants have made a huge difference." Anxiety and botanical remedies or not, 'Oh No' is a bold second album from Jessy and a marked step forward for her sound.

TRACK LISTING

A1. New Ogi
A2. VV Violence
A3. Never Enough
A4. I Talk BB
A5. Going Somewhere
B1. It Means I Love You
B2. Vivica
B3. Oh No
B4. Begins
B5. Could Be U