Easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2012 is the forthcoming mini LP / EP (whatever you want to call it) by Anja Plaschg, Soap&Skin, the twenty one year old Austrian (in itself it's incredible to think she is still so young) follows 2009's breathtaking 'Lovetune for Vacuum' with her next release 'Narrow', an eight track, thirty minute release due Feb 13th in Europe and somewhat annoyingly (for me) on March 19th in the UK.
The lead track "Boat Turns Toward The Port" isn't one for you New Years Eve party tonight, it will send shivers down your spine for Soap&Skin certainly appears to remain a creature of the dark, cold, night. Through mechanical glitches and majestic piano strokes Anja's vocals painful cries across this beautiful, sorrowful track of loss and suffering.
The wonderful TLOBF perfectly summed up the feeling I get from her music with this sentence about her debut: "Lovetune for Vacuum, remains amongst the most disturbing records I own, full as it is with unremitting, beautiful bleakness.". Disturbing and stark yes but also completely rewarding and beautiful too.
Soap&Skin play London's Scala on April 11th - tickets - getting them is highly recommended, her show at Union Chapel in 2010 was one of the most intense, powerful, emotional gigs I've ever been to.
Soap&Skin - Boat turns toward the port from Soap&Skin on Vimeo.
Beautifully eerie. The echoing vocals coupled with the lax percussion makes for a trance-like feel.
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