First emerging as an avant-garde violinist, Sudan Archives' foray into songwriting, producing, and singing comes together on Athena, her "psychedelic, magnetic" debut album. Sudan puts her distinctive mark on modern R&B, pulling heavily from African music; speaking on Cameroonian electronic music pioneer Francis Bebey," she says "his music is so simple, and the way he combines strings and electronic music is such a vibe." Bebey's style lead Sudan to incorporate the violin into her beats, and after some "trail-blazing" EPs, Sudan Archives and Sink, her fusion of North African-style fiddling, pared-back production, and layered R&B harmonies gel together more definitely than ever, 12 of her most ambitious work to date making the cut on the record. Check out "Confessions," built on epic strings, hard-hitting drums, and ethereal vocals/harmonies/melodies, or the chill bounce of "Limitless." "Honey" pairs dubby vocals w/ a pleasantly lo-fi, left-leaning beat, and "Pelicans In the Summer," lead by warm organ chords and an interesting time signature, rounds out the excellent long player.

• bronze marble vinyl
• includes insert
• music label: Stones Throw 2019

reviewed by singing in japanese 11/2019