Frogtoon Music

Xen (Album) by Arca

Artist Biography For Arca

Arca Is An Experimental Project By Alejandra Ghersi Rodríguez A Venezuelan Electronic Producer Mixing Engineer Performance Artist Painter And DJ.
Arca Embraces Fluidity And Changing Between States Whether It Be Gender Genre Or Personality. In A 2020 Interview They Say "We All Have Multiple Personalities. Rather Than Causing Panic I Think Maybe That Could Cause Some Relief". "There Was A Clear Intention On Her Fourth Album Kick I To Allow Every Self To Express Itself. Not To Decide How Much Air Time Each Self Would Get But To Allow For Modulation Between Them In A Spontaneous Way. There Is No Such Thing As Normal". In Mutability And Ambivalence Guide The Sound Of Her Music — The Atmospheres They Create Often Contain Abrasive Percussive Blasts Metal-Shop Whine The Screech Of Subway Brakes The Whine Of Jet Engines Overheating. Anthropomorphic And Animalistic Sounds Abound —mewling Cats Mooing Cows Anguished Screams The Grunts And Groans Of Orgasm Commingling Pleasure And Terror And Beauty And Ugliness In The Most Thrilling Ways Possible. She Has Also Been Credited For Her Writing/producing Efforts On Björk's Vulnicura And The Entirety Of Utopia. Alongside FKA Twigs' EP2 As Well As For Their Collaborations With Dean Blunt Frank Ocean Kelela Kanye West ROSALÍA And Lady Gaga Among Others.

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Xen

Xen Is The Debut Studio Album By Venezuelan Electronic Musician Arca Released On November 4 2014 Through Mute Records. The Album Was Recorded Over A Largely Improvised Six-Month Period In 2014. The Title Of The Album Is A Reference To Ghersi's "feminine Spirit" As Portrayed In The Album Artwork And Videos. According To The Artist The Designer Jesse Kanda Asked "if I Had A Girl's Name When I Was A Kid I Told Him That I Have This Image In My Head When I Listen To A Song Of Mine That I Really Love Or That I Feel Happy With. I Move Really Slowly In A Very Effeminate Way Close My Eyes And I See This Naked Being Who Exists In Front Of An Audience. Everyone Is Simultaneously Attracted To It And Repulsed". Upon Reflection She Felt That "Those Were All Projections Of My Psyche Of How I Viewed My Own Sexuality And How I Engaged With People Through The Lens Of Sensuality. Xen Is An 'it'. I Lean Towards Calling Xen 'her' In Response To The Fact That Society Historically Leans Towards Men Having More Power. Me Calling Xen 'her' Is An Equalisation Of That". This Is Reflected In The Video For The Song "Thievery". Ghersi Noted That The Song-Titles Have Little Meaning Except For "Failed" Which Was Written About Her Then-Boyfriend Daniel Sannwald. At Metacritic Which Assigns A Normalized Rating Out Of 100 To Reviews From Mainstream Publications The Album Received An Average Score Of 79 Based On 22 Reviews Indicating "generally Favorable Reviews". AllMusic Said "the Way Arca Plays With And Decorates Time Letting Sounds And Moods Mutate Spontaneously Makes Xen A Complete Picture Of Artistry And Also Promises Much More". Clash Described The Album As A "captivating At Times Unexplainable Reaching Of Pained Highs And Battered Lows". Consequence Of Sound Stated That Arca's "time Alongside Gesaffelstein Added To Understanding Of The Space Between Beats And The Emotive Power Of These Hesitations". The Observer Said Xen Is "one Of Those Albums That Elegantly Restates The Appeal Of Digital Music Expressing Hues And States Of Being That Fall Outside The Analogue Spectrum". Pitchfork Stated "Taken As A Whole It Is An Album About Unstable Unities Things That Cannot Easily Hold Together Wholes Breaking To Pieces And Being Put Back Together Again In New And Unfamiliar Shapes". PopMatters Said "This Is Uncompromising Stuff With Little Holding Back And The End Effect Is One That Wears Not Just Its Heart But Its Soul On Its Sleeve". Resident Advisor Said "Xen Remains As Singular–and Often As Brilliant–as The Rest Of The Arca Catalogue". Fact Wrote "Even If Chops As A Producer Aren't In Question The Writing On Xen Is Too Patchy To Fully Realise Ghersi's Ambitions. Still It's Hardly Lacking In Ideas".