Spanish composer, singer, and cellist Yamila Rios uses her music almost like a “vessel of sound,” creating a unique space where hazy textures, delicate melodies, and dreamlike invocations intermingle, separate, and collide. Living between Madrid and Brussels, the artist’s third solo album “Noor” is an art-pop masterpiece that pulses like a heartbeat beneath its serene surface.
A Neo-Classical Collaboration: For this album, Yamila joins forces with one of the most prestigious ensembles in the modern classical world: Echo Collective (Margaret Hermant and Neil Leiter). Known for their work with Jóhann Jóhannsson and A Winged Victory for the Sullen, this string collective lends Yamila’s measured and fragile art-pop songs an immense depth and structural backbone.
A Dance Without Percussion: Although the album contains almost no percussion, the rhythm of dance is felt in every note. The melancholic strings of the opening track “Embrasser un Arbre,” pierced by synthetic tones, open the space for the minimalist loops that dominate the record. Yamila’s multi-layered Spanish incantations and wordless vocal patterns inject a sudden urgency into the piece without breaking its ornate spell.
Ecology and Digital Alchemy: Yamila’s deep connection to nature permeates every corner of the album. In “Ascensión,” the sound of the cello is interrupted by thunder and rain; in “Lo animal,” patiently dripping water is later reborn as an elegant pizzicato string figure. It is rare to find such transparent and seamlessly blended electronic and acoustic elements.
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Yamila’s vocals feel like a more delicate and crystalline hybrid of Björk’s playfulness and Juana Molina’s hypnotic style—yet they carry a completely unique “ethos” of their own.
In cinematic epics like “Sin desarraigo,” earth-shaking noise bursts and dramatic string swells prove the artist’s genius at fusing opposing materials.
If you love the mournful grandeur of Jóhann Jóhannsson or the vocal layers of Julianna Barwick, “Noor” will be one of the standout “electronic/contemporary classical” releases of the year.
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