Arca – Anoche

From the unveiling of ‘Piel’, the first track taken from his upcoming album, it was obvious that Alejandro Ghersi, better known as Arca, would be pushing vocals further into the forefront of his work. That track featured operatic vocals set against muted yet deeply atmospheric waves of whistling synths with low, pulsing bass lurking underneath. On ‘Anoche’, he keeps things similarly minimalistic, singing first in falsetto and then more deeply atop extremely fragile piano tones. Eventually dusty percussive elements accompany the pairing, adding just another haunting layer into the mix. While it may not be laden in strings or pulsing synths, it’s still pretty evocative of his work with Björk on ‘Vulnicura’. As with much of that album, it’s intimate but also haunting, ethereal yet brimming with sadness. Listening to ‘Anoche’, you begin to understand why his upcoming LP is self-titled. It’s because Arca is finding his true voice. Tags: Arca, Listen, Have You Heard?, Reviews