Emika

It echoes and vibrates and shifts and buzzes – endless black tones flicker on the screen. The darkly coloured, daubed dub-techno-pop with which Berlin producer Emika made her debut in 2011 on an album named after her, is regarded as one of the most exciting sound creations in recent years. Geometric, staccato, techno beats are laid over a vibrating bass, and syncopated, stuttering click-i-di-clack rhythms are punctuated by measured piano chords. Emika sings, shudders and breathes her ghost-like songs about love and life to this accompaniment; Beth Gibbons and Portishead come to mind but Emika’s sound is more radical and consequential revealing with every beat that it is the child of dance music. In June, Emika’s new record “DVA” will be released on the label Ninja Tune. These recordings are about repression and freedom, art and politics, love and life. They bear titles like “Sleep with Your Enemies” or “Fight for Your Love” as well as a cover version of Chris Isaak’s legendary “Wicked Game”. For Foreign Affairs, Emika will be presenting her much-awaited new album in public for the first time.