Zoë McPherson
States of Fugue

boomkat: ...Among electronic music’s most intriguing new artists, Zoë McPherson devilishly complicates her sound in adeventurously strong 2nd album starring Elvin Brandhi and Greetje Bijma. Really strong LP this.

Chasing up her debut LP ’String Figures’ (2018) and last year’s collab with Rupert Clervaux, ‘States of Fugue’ frames Zoë’s sound at its most elusive/illusive and cryptic, weft with samples of uncertain origin and sledding into unexpected places of enquiry.

"On ‘States Of Fugue’, Zoë Mc Pherson orchestrates a very personal, tactile and fluid journey through emotions that range from subdued calm through to outright rage and playful devastation. She takes plunges into the deepest depths, lead by multiplied voices from the distance, with sounds crawling from beneath the surface of bass-frequencies, with what we can only describe as a rubbery synth glue (check ‘Growth’) before untangling all the tension in a whirlwind of mangled percussion (Exile) and letting completely loose on the rhythm-driven ‘Taste’… And this is just a pointer towards the three opening tracks!

As the record continues, we visit vast worlds via Zoë Mc Pherson’s forward-thinking, left-turn taking sound. We haven’t even reached the polyrhythmic banger ‘Tenace (Dogs On Road)’ and the vocal disturbance of ‘Get It!’ yet, and we’re already super-charged on Zoë’s unique energy.

Although her roots as a drummer can be heard throughout the record’s versatile and deft appliance of off-setting rhythms and the unique unscrewing of percussive elements, it’s the use of her voice that carries the record through so effectively. The direct stream of voice that locks in and out through each tune, wether in a directly understandable form or in a more guttural, effected shape really gives the record its feeling. The noises are relatable even in their strangest shape, and the narrative only compliments the sentiments of sound within. On ‘Learn Your Language Faster’ with Elvin Brandi on vocals, Zoë found her perfect match in terms of this vocal-charged message."