Jee Day / Aura Go

DFA

"Aura Go" rises, opens, rouses not unlike a soft light growing to illumination, a day slowly revealing itself. Synths whisper and ring out – like bells marking an early hour – at the start, followed by a succession of other awakenings: a palpitating beat, vocalizations that repeat like undulations, percussive poundings and ringings. It all leads to full on, acid-infused, dance floor hypnosis, with producer Dennis "DJ" McNany pushing polyrhythmic, almost tribal beats to the very front. With the addition of husky vocals from collaborator Jee Young Sim – imagine Siouxsie Sioux crossed with Planningtorock – the sound becomes something altogether, and altogether unexpectedly, gorgeous.  Run Roc's Whisper Dub is a more intense revision of the Jee Day original. While the first version of the track achieves its enthralling propulsion through the melding of so many disparate sounds, Roc's version achieves greater alarm with the addition of elements in a higher register. The effect is a song that feels both tauter and slightly more dense than in its first incarnation. Despite the hushed singing that leads off the track, the fiery feel of the music makes the "Whisper" in the title seem nominally deceptive.  "Lowhand," which closes things out, uses orchestral strums and pluckings to dramatic and darkly romantic effect. Sim utters minimal vocals, utterings that aren't words so much as simply lovely sounds, while in the background float more fully formed, ghostly notes. The swirl of sound – a gently moving river of strings, rising and falling keys and lightly rolling percussion – make for a lullabye-esque wash of prettily rendered music.

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