Erika de Casier – Still (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Erika de Casier – Still (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 43:16 minutes | 497 MB | Genre: Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 4AD

The 33-year-old Danish singer, songwriter and producer built a cult following with her 2019 debut album Essentials, and built on that “cult” designation with 2021’s Sensational, her first for 4AD. Since then, she’s performed at some of the biggest festivals in the world, written for pop stars (NewJeans) and sung on hyped dance tracks (Mura Masa, Shygirl). But when she ushers you into the expanses of her third album she’s inviting you to leave any crass The Nordics’ Next Big Thing or Rising Alt-Pop Star epithets at the door. She may have won a lot of new fans in the past three years, and a lot of high-profile collaborators (Dua Lipa, Blood Orange, Eartheater, etc.) but as this album’s title confirms, she’s the same old Erika de Casier. Still.

All of this to say the album is classic de Casier, her idiosyncratic mix of luxuriant electronica and moonlit R&B drilled further into that one-of-a-kind sound here. Her songwriting is as masterful and universal as ever, and her proficiency as a producer heightened as she produces other voices (They Hate Change, Shygirl, Blood Orange) for the first time. She also invites new collaborators, working with live musicians in addition to samples. N, co-producer of Essentials and Sensational, returns here, but added to the fold are Jonathan Jull Ludvigsen, Carl Emil Johansen, Niels Kirk, Christian Rhode Lindinger, Nick León, Kirsten Nyhus Janssen and Tobias Sachse, adding live drums, synths, guitar, bass and more.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” assures Erika de Casier when introducing her third album, Still. Here, the Danish artist, who was born in Portugal, leaves behind the sensuality that has often characterised her work. Transforming into a diva, she’s instead turned her hand to hyperpop and doesn’t simply skim the surface of the genre. With complex electronic sounds, the album has a soul spirit with a touch of autotune and presents the image of a woman in love. The synthetic aspect is consistently counterbalanced by the use of acoustic guitar, harp on the tender “Anxious,” piano borrowed from noughties pop and even modernised English jungle on “Lucky,” which is pacified by tracks like the very intimate and successful “The Princess”. Still goes straight to the heart. It’s a testimony to the diversity of its creator, from electronic Indian melodies to synths imitating the phrasing of sitars on “ooh.” The single “ice,” which features Florida duo They Hate Change, brilliantly sets the tone for the album, while “Twice,” with whispered vocals, proves Erika de Casier is a master of melodies and knows exactly how to call on her roots to create her own distinctive sound. – Brice Miclet

Tracklist:
1-1. Erika de Casier – Right This Way (01:47)
1-2. Erika de Casier – Home Alone (03:30)
1-3. Erika de Casier – Lucky (03:24)
1-4. Erika de Casier – The Princess (02:16)
1-5. Erika de Casier – ice (02:46)
1-6. Erika de Casier – Test It (02:46)
1-7. Erika de Casier – ooh (04:03)
1-8. Erika de Casier – Believe It (03:07)
1-9. Erika de Casier – Anxious (02:08)
1-10. Erika de Casier – Ex-Girlfriend (03:35)
1-11. Erika de Casier – Toxic (03:03)
1-12. Erika de Casier – My Day Off (03:34)
1-13. Erika de Casier – Twice (03:43)
1-14. Erika de Casier – Someone (03:26)

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