The debut album by the south Londoner is has woozy, easy, hazy, lazy summer feel, a mix of languid hip hop, reggae, jazz, and soul with a dash of dub, a dribble of drum’n’bass and even psych with a hippie sprinkle. We previously highlighted her single Hu Man, an Erykah Badu-inspired soul, bossa nova and psychedelic R&B number, which is not on this album. There’s something mesmerisingly cool and slick about Aria Wells, and the relaxation effect, stirred up even more oddly because of a smoky cloud of 18 various producers (alongside longtime collaborator Earbuds there’s also Samo and Kiko, and Mala, part of the legendary dubstep production duo Digital Mystikz) is perhaps also because the album was recorded at 432Hz, and not the industry standard 440. It’s hart to know if this adds to the subliminal chill-out effect, but it’s a nice idea. Interwoven into some very catchy tunes there’s much mention of Babylon (“won’t play your game”), Jah and more, slipping loosely around social critiques, as well “free your mind and eat some shrooms”, but it’s the fluidity of style stands out more than the politics, from This Sound to the flutey Be Careful, the fluttery jazz of Free My People, the hip hop jazz and offbeat of Satta with elements of Tricky as well as Lauren Hill in places, the floaty Dingaling, the strange and lovely song Maya. Go with the flow. Infectiously cool and distinctively stylish. Out on AMF/ Universal.
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