{"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 \u2013 \u2018Aerobic Lambada\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Connecting with the label soon after the release of her debut single, \u2018Slippin\u2019 Around\u2019, in early 2012 \u2013 opening for Robyn on several occasions across 2013 \u2013 in February 2014 Robyn confirmed Zhala<\/a> as the first signing to Konichiwa Records. Robyn stated:<\/p>\n

\u2018Zhala makes the most interesting music that takes you on a ride with each song. It\u2019s 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!\u2019<\/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 \u2018Prophet\u2019. The song was subsequently released at the head of an EP of the same name, which also included \u2018Slippin\u2019 Around\u2019 and \u2018Efter Livet\u2019.\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 \u2018cosmic pop\u2019, created with the mindset of a \u2018modern day transnational\u2019. 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 \u2018Swedish\u2019 by many of her fellow Swedes.<\/p>\n

Zhala\u2019s self-titled debut album was released at the end of May. While her music resembles Robyn\u2019s in its willingness to push and experiment within the context of pop forms, in its fluttering melodies, synthetic\u00a0rhythms, and jagged, crunching beats, Zhala\u2019s sound is more dense. Where Robyn\u2019s voice achieves a hard-edged earnestness, Zhala\u2019s 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, \u2018Aerobic Lambada\u2019 and \u2018Holy Bubbles\u2019.<\/p>\n

The middle of the album showcases Zhala\u2019s biggest and boldest hits, \u2018Slippin\u2019 Around\u2019 and \u2018Prophet\u2019. Then the pace slows with the pulsing\u00a0\u2018Prince In the Jungle\u2019, and \u2018Right Way\u2019s Wrong\u2019, the closest the album comes to a ballad. While the earlier pieces hew closer to techno, \u2018Me and My Borderline Friend In Trance\u2019 begins with a seafaring melody and castanets before embracing trance in its final third. Zhala<\/em> burns to a close with \u2018Efter Livet\u2019.<\/p>\n

Zhala learnt to produce in Ableton via tutorials on YouTube; Mattias Old\u00e9n is the album\u2019s 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\u2019s Interstellar<\/em> and Doldrums\u2019 Lesser Evil<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The video for \u2018Aerobic Lambada\u2019 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\u2019s friends Tony Karlson and Siri Hjorton Wagner. Discussing the song, Zhala says:<\/p>\n

\u2018The song describes the itchy feeling you get in your butt when you have to adjust to different social contexts but you can\u2019t, 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.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

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

* * *<\/p>\n

Robyn \u2013 \u2018Bum Like You\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

And on the subject of Robyn \u2013 whose music is never long from my hearing \u2013 I\u2019ve been listening to her self-titled album lots this month, especially in the process of writing the \u2018Behind the Song\u2019 piece on \u2018Be Mine!\u2019<\/a>. Here\u2019s a fantastic acoustic version of \u2018Bum Like You\u2019, performed at Borders\u00a0Hollywood on 9 February 2009: hungover, as she admits, coming the day after the Grammys.<\/p>\n