After dropping his debut album Xen earlier this year, shadowy producer Arca unveils his sequel LP with Mutant.
While he may not be a household name yet, his gender-warped aesthetic and alien avant-pop sound has already spawned a number of high-profile collaborations, working with the likes of Kanye West on his most recent release Yeezus, FKA twigs on EP2 and her groundbreaking debut LP1, Björk on her 2015 album Vulnicura and Hood By Air's Shayne Oliver on a forthcoming project, dubbed "Wench."
Mutant - an appropriate title given the album's undefinable genre and surreal aura - features a variety of eclectic soundscapes, altering between grotesque, lurching onslaughts of noise, hauntingly beautiful and emotive ambient drones and dense aggro-urban beats that weigh down heavy on the murkiest corners dancefloor.
The album is by no means an easy listen - the allure of Arca's work is its ability to seduce listeners by transcending them into a fantastical realm that, at times, can be overwhelmingly intimidating. But once you've immersed yourself in the black hole and get past the nightmarish rough patches, you'll find yourself in a place that's comforting, serene and delicately euphoric.
Stream Mutant in full below.
