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LORAINE JAMES

Loraine James

Detached From The Rest Of You

Forged from the fire of internal struggles, Loraine James was wrestling with confidence and a desire for change when she embarked on 'Detached From The Rest Of You'. A guiding hand came through producing 2025's 'Clandestine' EP with singer Anysia Kym, which gave her the experience of a more 'pop' setting and the tools and insight to work her instrumentals into more conventional shapes; a shift from club driven sounds and winding instrumentals into more precise song forms.

Loraine’s production is stripped to the bone, soundscapes of clicks and glitches inspired by Aoki Takamasa, Ryoji Ikeda, and the early-00s Clicks & Cuts school. Here, often with not much more than sparse keyboard chords to fill in with subtle colouring, she uses the space around the sounds and vocals to draw the listener in to a succinct and direct album, her most confident yet.

Guest contributors include vocalist Sydney Spann on 'In a Rut', Alan Sparkhawk (Low) on downcast anthem 'Peak Again', Miho Hatori (Cibo Matto) on 'Flatline', Anysia Kim on 'Score', and Tirzah on 'Habits and Patterns'. Finally her old spar, the rapper Le3 bLACK returns to spit fire with the jazz-indebted track 'Ending Us All' with Fyn Dobson backing on tumbling drums.

TRACK LISTING

1. A Long Distance Call
2. The Book Of Self Doubt
3. In A Rut Ft Sydney Spann
4. Score Ft Anysia Kym
5. Seems Like I A6. Flatline Ft Miho Hatori
6. Peak Again Ft Alan Sparhawk
7. Habits And Patterns Ft Tirzah
8. Wish I Was Like U
9. Ending Us All Ft Le3 BLACK X Fyn Dobson
10. Forever Still (Steel)
11. See Through

Loraine James

Gentle Confrontation

‘Gentle Confrontation’, Loraine James's third Hyperdub album, opens a new chapter of her real and sonic life in which she examines her past and present. It's a positively languid, enjoyably disjointed set made while listening to her teenage favourites; math rock and emo-electronic such as DNTEL, Lusine and Telefon Tel Aviv. The album also features an ever more diverse set of peers, placing them in her unusual musical settings and drawing out sensitive and reflexive performances. At other times the album stretches out into a drifting ambience as if seeking a sense of bliss in the everyday. ‘Gentle Confrontation’ is about relationships (especially familial), understanding, and giving back a little grace and care, while the tone of the record criss-crosses watery ambience with denatured rhythm and asmr beats. These 16 tracks are Loraine's best work yet, and a personal and musical leap forward, delivering a totally unique vision of electronic pop music.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: The inimitable Loraine James effortlessly mixes languid lounge jazz, scattered electronics and woozy downbeat on her third album for veteran electronic superlabel, Hyperdub. It's full of melodic hooks, submerged under a wash of beautifully produced electronic soup, and it's my favourite thing she's done by far. Brilliant.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Gentle Confrontation
A2. 2003
A3. Let U Go Ft. KeiyaA
A4. Déjà Vu Ft. RiTchie
B1. Prelude Of Tired Of Me
B2. Glitch The System (Glitch Bitch 2)
B3. I DM U
B4. One Way Ticket To The Midwest (Emo) Ft. Corey Mastrangelo
C1. Cards With The Grandparents
C2. While They Were Singing Ft. Marina Herlop
C3. Try For Me Ft. Eden Samara
C4. Tired Of Me
D1. Speechless Ft. George Riley
D2. Disjointed (Feeling Like A Kid Again)
D3. I’m Trying To Love Myself
D4. Saying Goodbye Ft. Contour

(CD BONUS TRACK : Scepticism With Joy Ft. Mouse On The Keys)

Loraine James

Reflection

Made during summer 2020, Loraine James’ second Hyperdub album, ‘Reflection’, is a turbulent expression of inner-space, laid out in unflinching honesty, offering gentle empathy and bitter-sweet hope. ‘Reflection’ further develops a unique pop sensibility realised on last year’s ‘Nothing EP’, while tones of Drill and R&B seep through into this collection too. In contrast to the brash splashes of 2019’s ‘For You And I’ LP and the grimey anger of ‘Nothing’, ‘Reflection’ is pared-down and confident, taking the listener through how last year felt as a young black queer woman in a world that has suddenly stopped moving, the arc of the album peppered with Loraine's diaristic confessions.

Starting positively with the gentle pop-trap of ‘Built To Last’ ft Xzavier Stone, into the bumpy instrumental of ‘Let's Go’, the album switches tone with ‘Simple Stuff’, followed by regular collaborator Le3 bLACK amplifying Loraine's vulnerability on the downcast drill of ‘Black Ting’, then ‘Insecure Behaviour And Fuckery’ is a techno glide which pairs Nova's confrontational plea for respect, delivered in monotone autotune, against deep Drexciyan chords. With Baths on vocals, the weightlessness of ‘On The Lake Outside’ soothes numb feelings, and Eden Samara explores the shadow world of anxious dreams on the airy R&B of ‘Running Like That’. Closing track ‘We're Building Something New’ with Manchester rapper Iceboy Violet brings the album together, confidently suggesting a new world is in reach. ‘Reflection’ is a brave step forward for a unique and creative 21st century musician

TRACK LISTING

A1. Built To Last (ft Xzavier Stone)
A2. Let's Go
A3. Simple Stuff
A4. Black Ting (ft Le3 BLack)
A5. Insecure Behaviour And Fuckery (ft Nova)
A6. Self Doubt (Leaving The Club Early)

B1. On The Lake Outside (ft Baths)
B2. Reflection B3. Change
B4. Running Like That (ft Eden Samara)
B5. We're Building Something New (ft Iceboy Violet)

Loraine James

For You And I

Raised in the multicultural and mind-broadening London borough of Enfield, Loraine James grew up hearing everything from steel pan music to Metallica, from jazz and electronica to drill and grime, and the results of this exposure can be heard on ‘For You And I’. In part the album explores the complexities of being in a queer relationship in London - “I’m in love and wanted to share that in some way … to make songs that reflect layers of my relationship.” – and as a whole ‘For You and I’ is rhythmically free flowing and sprawling, with melodies that evolve into rippling keys, feeling like a live jam session with a jazz mentality, contrasting the delicate and abrasive. Opener ‘Glitch Bitch’ is a warm ear-worm, brandishing swirling textures with undulating keys and compressed percussion, with an introspective theme revisited soon after on third track ‘So Scared’, whose glitched percussion and syncopated dub bassline build to a frantic meltdown melody.

On ‘London Ting // Dark As Fuck’, inspired by Dizzee Rascals's ‘Boy In Da Corner', James explores the darker side of her production with her frequent collaborator Le3 BLACK laying verses over the skeletal track. ‘Hand Drops’ is an instrumental, about public displays of affection in a queer relationship. ‘Sensual’ reflects on intimacy with vocals by UK singer Theo, whose lyrics capture love and gentleness over a soft, minimal production of ethereal keys and scattered glitches. The albums’ title track is also the most colourful, it’s ecstatic and effusive chaos driven by fervent synths expressing elation and the joyful side of her relationship, while ‘My Future’ is a more reflective moment, where warping synths wash in and out with compressed kicks, as the artist considers the dangers that may come with her relationship : “I wanna tie the knot / But the rope is dangerous”. ‘For You And I’ is a deeply intimate and personal offering, expressing happiness, anxiety, joy, sensuality and fear through a vivid sound palette and an experimental sense of rhythm.


TRACK LISTING

A1. Glitch Bitch
A2. London Ting // Dark As Fuck
A3. So Scared
A4. Hand Drops
A5. Sensual
B1. For You And I
B2. My Future
B3. Scraping My Feet
B4. Sick 9
B5. Vowel // Consonant 


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