Aisha Devi‘s Danse Noire label is getting set to release Réelle‘s mind-blowing LP Ghamccccxc vRR on May 25th–following the release of their Kissing Myself EP on May 11th. The work of Yannick Pozo Vento, the producer was born near Cologne to an Afro-Cuban father and German mother, before eventually being relocated to the Netherlands where they began taking music classes at just three years of age.
The young musician would go on to study piano for the next ten years before abandoning a classical approach to begin producing Hardcore and Gabber. This would lead to a debut release at the age of 17, followed by further releases and an apprenticeship in event engineering. However, Vento’s approach to music making would be forever altered after experiencing their first schizophrenic psychosis, as well as a diagnosis of schizophrenia shortly thereafter. The event would lead the artist to fully embrace their gender fluidity and queerness, as well as an idiosyncratic method of music production.
Réelle often uses an application that allows them to paint musical sounds and melody using brushes, pens, and picture editing tools, and they combine this approach with the use of microtonal scales and self-recorded samples. All of these techniques are used on the extraordinary and haunting Ghamccccxc vRR track “Floating.” Discussing the upcoming LP, the artist explains:
“Most of these sounds, as well as the album title, were created during psychosis without me consciously knowing what I?m doing. Therefore I also can’t remember when or why I wrote down Ghamccccxc vRR on a piece of paper.”
The video for “Floating” is done in one take and seems to use a handheld camera for its self-shot perspective. Opening on a starkly lit white wall, the camera pans between this shot and a close-up of the subject’s mesh masked face and mouth. Possibly using the title “Kissing Oneself” as its’ creative cue, the visuals focus on the fetishistic act of licking this facial covering. The overall effect is quite jarring, and though ultimately inscrutable, the connotations are unmistakably erotic.
