The music world has just been blown wide open by a trailblazing collaboration between UK-based artists Lauren Duffus, Rainy Miller, and Bianca Scout, and Polish producer 2K88. The result is 'Everything Always Changes', an album that's as hauntingly beautiful as it is innovative – the perfect storm of experimental sound design and genre-bending production.
This isn't just a collaboration, it's a match made in sonic heaven. 2K88's dark, glitching tracks from his native Poland were drawn to the British trio like moths to a flame, thanks to their shared love of atmospheric, late-night sonics. The four artists came together for a residency in Gdynia last year, culminating in a live performance at the Unsound festival in Kraków – and it was there that the material for this 10-track masterpiece was born.
Prepare yourself for an album characterised by 'glacial sound design' that'll freeze your ears in awe. You'll be treated to subtle 'fragments of FX'd voice' and impactful 'stabs of low end', all expertly woven together like a sonic tapestry. The opening track, 'Everything Always Changes', sets the tone perfectly – textural drones intertwining with Duffus's 'gauzy, looped vocals' that'll transport you to another dimension.
There are moments when leftfield R&B takes centre stage, particularly in Duffus's 'sensuous' vocals over a 'rumbling Kelela-style hook' on 'Salto', and the 'slo-mo drum pattern' underpinning 'Forevers Just Trust in Another Day'. But don't be fooled – these elements are filtered through 2K88's distinctive 'moody lens', with beats often deconstructed and infused with distorted sounds to keep things interesting.
Yes, there are moments when the production veers into over-the-top moodiness – but just as you're about to get lost in a sea of distortion, something beautiful emerges from the wreckage. The highlight reel is full of 'woozy, collage-like compositions' like 'A Random Introduction', and Bianca Scout's 'whispered incantations' on 'Poetic Fallacy', which showcases the quartet's innovative spirit shining brightly through even the darkest soundscapes.