{"id":6504,"date":"2015-07-07T23:06:48","date_gmt":"2015-07-08T02:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/culturedarm.com\/?p=6504"},"modified":"2015-08-27T11:00:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T14:00:03","slug":"culturedarms-songs-of-the-month-june-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culturedarm.com\/staging\/5793\/culturedarms-songs-of-the-month-june-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Culturedarm’s Songs of the Month (June 2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"zhala\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Zhala – ‘Aerobic Lambada’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Connecting with the label soon after the release of her debut single, ‘Slippin’ Around’, in early 2012 – opening for Robyn on several occasions across 2013 – in February 2014 Robyn confirmed Zhala<\/a> as the first signing to Konichiwa Records. Robyn stated:<\/p>\n

‘Zhala makes the most interesting music that takes you on a ride with each song. It’s so broad and has so much integrity at the same time. When Zhala sings the heavens open and the stars come down to hover over my head and I feel like anything is possible. I\u00b4m so happy to be a part of taking her music to a new audience!’<\/em><\/p>\n

The same month, Zhala was joined by Robyn onstage at the Swedish Grammis<\/a>, for a Nirvana-themed performance of her song ‘Prophet’. The song was subsequently released at the head of an EP of the same name, which also included ‘Slippin’ Around’ and ‘Efter Livet’.\u00a0Zhala went on to serve as the opening act for the\u00a0R\u00f6yksopp & Robyn Do It Again Tour, as it moved through the\u00a0West Coast of the United States.<\/p>\n

Zhala describes her music as ‘cosmic pop’, created with the mindset of a ‘modern day transnational’. She was born in Sweden to Kurdish parents, who remain heavily invested in politics: a source of inspiration and self-navigation for Zhala, who has performed alternately in front of the Swedish and Kurdish flag. She has described the feeling of not-quite-belonging: in\u00a0a country with such a distinctive and well-cultivated national image, still relatively homogeneous, and with a stuttering response towards immigration, she feels that she has only recently been perceived as ‘Swedish’ by many of her fellow Swedes.<\/p>\n

Zhala’s self-titled debut album was released at the end of May. While her music resembles Robyn’s in its willingness to push and experiment within the context of pop forms, in its fluttering melodies, synthetic\u00a0rhythms, and jagged, crunching beats, Zhala’s sound is more dense. Where Robyn’s voice achieves a hard-edged earnestness, Zhala’s is more angular, and operates resolutely within the mix, as one facet of complex soundscapes whether she sings softly or stretches it out and shifts the pitch. Beyond the realm of electronic dance music, she has noted the influence of Middle Eastern music and Bollywood; while critics have posited the role of Kurdish dance and the genre of Halparke. This conflux is especially present on some of the earlier tracks on Zhala, ‘Aerobic Lambada’ and ‘Holy Bubbles’.<\/p>\n

The middle of the album showcases Zhala’s biggest and boldest hits, ‘Slippin’ Around’ and ‘Prophet’. Then the pace slows with the pulsing\u00a0‘Prince In the Jungle’, and ‘Right Way’s Wrong’, the closest the album comes to a ballad. While the earlier pieces hew closer to techno, ‘Me and My Borderline Friend In Trance’ begins with a seafaring melody and castanets before embracing trance in its final third. Zhala<\/em> burns to a close with ‘Efter Livet’.<\/p>\n

Zhala learnt to produce in Ableton via tutorials on YouTube; Mattias Old\u00e9n is the album’s sole co-producer.\u00a0If Robyn, Grimes, and M.I.A. in different ways comprise the obvious points of reference, Zhala <\/em>shares qualities too with\u00a0Frankie Rose’s Interstellar<\/em> and Doldrums’ Lesser Evil<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The video for ‘Aerobic Lambada’ came out in February. Shot in and around Stockholm, and featuring clothing by This is Sweden<\/a>, it was directed by documentarian Ester Martin Bergsmark, and produced by Zhala’s friends Tony Karlson and Siri Hjorton Wagner. Discussing the song, Zhala says:<\/p>\n

‘The song describes the itchy feeling you get in your butt when you have to adjust to different social contexts but you can’t, that frustration, and also stress, when you hurry in slow motion, and I wanted to keep that feeling in the video and create a dream and reality that is fused together. We wanted the video to capture Sweden, Swedish nature and Swedish society from our perspective.’<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m5TULAInux4<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Robyn – ‘Bum Like You’<\/strong><\/p>\n

And on the subject of Robyn – whose music is never long from my hearing – I’ve been listening to her self-titled album lots this month, especially in the process of writing the ‘Behind the Song’ piece on ‘Be Mine!’<\/a>. Here’s a fantastic acoustic version of ‘Bum Like You’, performed at Borders\u00a0Hollywood on 9 February 2009: hungover, as she admits, coming the day after the Grammys.<\/p>\n