LIJO and the hypnotic surreal drama of "Spell"

"I don't want to see you when you're under someone else's spell..."

"Spell" by the divergent Dutch artpop artist LIJO starts with her acapella voice, the cadence of the melody emotionally tentative and alluring. Still her voice all alone is so exquisitely captivating. Twenty seconds in that voice is bathed with harmonies (maybe self harmonies) and you feel mesmerized by it all, anchored in the drama and unable to move. The music doesn't build in around those voices until nearly 90 seconds in and when the accompaniment, a heavy thick textured sound (that could be many things) does flood in and around you there is the sense of anticipation, of maybe dangerous intentions. The formula here, the layered emotional voices like your inner conscience backing up an internal conversation pushed further with sheer feelings of anxiety ridden drama as those heavy bass sounds raise up is so different and so potent. It might feel more like performance art than a song, an experience that feels cinematic and poetic. 

Interestingly, "Spell" takes me by surprise every time I have listened. I know that may sound odd but LIJO's vocal presence grabs you be the throat so tightly that you loose your bearings, you get lost in it all. So much so that when those big bottom waves of sound come in and they will still startle you. I guess the name of this track is so very appropriate.  

"Spell" is LIJO's third single from her upcoming debut album.

-Robb Donker Curtius 

LIJO · Spell

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

https://thisislijo.bandcamp.com/

https://www.thisislijo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thisislijo

https://www.instagram.com/thisislijo/

https://soundcloud.com/thisislijo

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4fELglS1jHSC3lUA5A2SHC

Artpop artist LIJO doesn’t make superficial music, but creates songs that gets people thinking as well as dancing and singing along.

Aren’t we thinking about ourselves a lot? On a small scale, we all are the main characters of our own little shows. On a bigger one we act like we are the main character in this world. Eccentric and literate songstress LIJO addresses this and its consequences, but then decorates it with a sense of lightheartedness and danceability, flowing melodies and feverish sounds. Because as she puts it, all we can and should do is add beauty to a world that needs it.

Being from a small village, LIJO grew up to be a self-taught pianist and songwriter with little knowledge of popmusic, which laid the foundation for her quirky sense of melody and lyrics and her genre-bending writing style. Having been the driving force behind cinematic folkpop band ILEN MER, launching her solo project under the moniker LIJO marked the start of her exploration of electronic elements in her music. Opening her ears to artists like St Vincent and Roísin Murphy as well as Depeche Mode and Kate Bush, her music, still hard to put in a box, was soon labeled AVANT POP or ARTPOP.

Her untameable curiosity and urge to keep renewing herself are reflected in a live performance that’s always in motion. LIJO plays with synths, beats and loops in her electronic set and is intrigued by working with guest musicians, which resulted in a collaboration with electronic cellist Mirthe de Jonge, though her songs are just as convincing stripped down to the naked core with only a piano and her characteristic vocals.

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