Early this year, Chasms unveiled two deeply personal new singles: “Submit” and “Things Have Changed,” – out now on felte. Layering electronic drum samples and meditative guitars with her ethereal vocals, producer Jess Labrador’s percussive dirges are sparse yet emotive – a dreamy, ambient, and melancholic mixture of industrial, shoegaze, and dream pop. With these offerings, Chasms gently steps into an expanse of vapourous synths and samples, electronic pop, and dub-wise pulse.
On February 24th (vinyl March 24th), felte will release Glimpse Of Heaven – a stunning new album. Now Labrador shares the video for the reflective, propulsive lead single “Parallel.” The track takes inspiration from Massive Attack, Basic Chanel, Sadé, Seefeel, and Dif Juz for a wholly unique vibe.
With this track, her usual ambience. breaks free, propelled by a classic breakbeat and encased by a Burial-style synth scape. Her signature dreaminess lingers, but the context is sophisticated and pensive as the song’s lyrics deal navigate the labyrinth of pursuing a love interest, only to realize that not only do they bring the same personal issues to the table, but that the interest is unequal.
“This track is about two equally unavailable people going around in circles, running in parallel, never meeting,” says Labrador. “Longing for someone with whom it will never work out because you both share the same issues. Interrogating that person and the situation over and over only to realize that, in doing so, you’re holding a mirror up to yourself. Sonically, I wanted to create an atmosphere of lust, loneliness, and introspection, but also something that would be at home on a hazy dance floor.”
For the video, director Marisol Baltierra wanted to capture the song’s pace with movement, taking inspiration from countless drives through downtown Los Angeles at night. “There’s a loneliness to those drives that reminds me of the avoidant tendency to run away from difficult emotions referenced in the song’s lyrics.” she says. “The dream and memory sequences are an homage to confessional-style music videos from the ’90s.” The sophisticated cinematography illustrates and anchors the track with a cinematic narrative, placing the otherworldly vocals firmly in the mortal world – memories and thoughts manifested into this universe, if fleetingly.
Watch the video for “Parallel” below:
Labrador’s deeply personal work has always felt like an unveiling. Stepping out of the dark, meditation on grief and loss from her previous album The Mirage, she is now experimenting with a plethora of vaporous synths and samples, creating a more ethereal soundscape. Both songs address very contemporary societal issues with a personal spin.
Where the last Chasms record was about various kinds of collapse, Glimpse of Heaven is about trying to develop as a whole person. “It seems to ultimately be asking whether what we want and what we need align in ways that will get us where we want to be. Can we let go of the comfort of bad habits and steer ourselves toward a less easily obtained but maybe more enduring happiness?” she says.
Glimpse of Heaven is Labrador’s first solo release, and she feels like it’s the only way the album could have been made. Produced and recorded by Labrador, ‘Glimpse of Heaven’ was mixed by Joshua Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv), who also contributed additional production to the album.
Pre-Order the album here
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