Venezuelan artist, DJ, singer and composer Arca and London based cellist, producer and composer Oliver Coates have collaborated on Arca’slatest work ‘Madre feat. Oliver Coates’. Available as part of a four track maxi-single, the song is accompanied by a visual by Aron Sanchez.
Music from the release features as part of an original Arca score for the latest episode of HBO’s acclaimed drama series EUPHORIA. Arca’s score – titled “Fantasia For Jules” – contains the song “Madreviolo” and its elements in various arrangements alongside other original Arca music. The special episode – titled ‘F*ck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob’ – aired on Friday (22nd January) on HBO Max and is seen from the perspective of Jules, played by actress Hunger Schafer, who co-executive produced and co-write the episode with creator Sam Levison.
Talking about the collaboration, and the genesis of the music, Arca says:
“I wrote ‘Madre’ years ago, and I did ‘Madreviolo’ playing the cello myself, before working with Oliver. After recording ‘Madreviolo’, I destroyed the cello I bought specifically for this. It had to be like a one-time thing for the version where I pitched up my vocal to castrati registers. But the original version with my unprocessed vocals, which felt a necessary version to share alongside Madreviolo, needed an arrangement that I could envision but couldn’t hear. When I shared the acapella version with Oliver there was an insane resonance and chemistry; where he took it felt like the place I dreamed of but couldn’t reach without him.”
Oliver Coates adds:
“Arca got in touch after hearing my track Butoh baby on Boxing Day. She sent me one acapella a few days later which I wrote an accompaniment to and sent back. On the basis of liking that she sent me Madre which I could feel was powerful vocally & deeply emotional lyrically. I worked on it for about 9 days, playing very softly against it over and over in improvised strokes until a harmony and rhythm started to present itself, like a ghost orchestra at the back of a cathedral, barely raising above a whisper but also enveloping in terms of space and density. Then I made a mix but didn’t want to change a single thing about Alejandra’s vocal, I kept faithful to her dynamics and didn’t modify anything. And that is the version she heard and wanted to release.
After building layers I often perform a chance procedure where I export a huge amount of texture, then play it backwards and pitch it down to find an entirely new colour and vista from the same material. Essentially hundreds of layers of cello mutated and reworked as a mass. I noticed Arca had these two amazingly long melismas in the middle of the song, where her voice moves through all the registers in one breath.
I found luck lining up my reversed mass renders with her melismas, all the harmonies seemed to cascade and coalesce better than one could ever consciously compose. Conversations with Arca led me to look at the lyrics a bit more, to think about the atmosphere beyond the surface meaning and to see if I could carve out a more ascetic, decaying, almost austere space – and that’s what shaped the second half of the piece.”
‘Madre feat. Oliver Coates” maxi-single tracklist:
- Madre feat. Oliver Coates
- Madreviolo
- Madre Acapella
- Violo
Last February Arca interviewed Hunter Schafer for her cover of V Magazine in which the two discussed “defying norms, sci-fi, and trans-inclusive creativity.” The two, who are close admirers of each other’s artistry, spoke candidly about the representation of the trans experience in their work, with Hunter explaining how Arca’s “sound so specifically represents (their) experience.” Read the full conversation HERE.
2020 was an unprecedented year for Arca, the Venezuelan artist, singer, DJ, performance and experimental music composer. She released her fourth studio album KiCk i, receiving her first GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Dance/Electronic Album.” She additionally released a 62-minute single titled “@@@@@” and once again collaborated with Bronze AI to release 100 unique versions of her song “Riquiqui.” Outside of her own music she composed music for the new wing at MoMA, collaborated with Frank Ocean, and performed with the Labèque sisters at Riccardo Tisci’s Burberry Autumn/Winter 2020 runway show. She’s a painter who’s created her own album art, a model, and a tech innovator who’s co-designed some of her own unique instruments, that notably landed her a spot on Wired’s WIRED25 2020 list of innovators. And in October 2019 she performed a four-night residency at NYC’s cultural institution The Shed titled Mutant;Faith.
KiCk i defines a new era of multiplex harmony for Arca. The first in the KiCk series, which is a total of four albums, it’s become clear that KiCk i is only the beginning and with places like them. declaring, “Arca’s work is beyond innovative…her vision for the future of pop is so thrilling,” and Pitchfork noting Arca’s ability to “continue to create a singular world,” a new queen has emerged mutant and splendorous. A nonbinary Latinx trans woman, who is redefining the role of the diva for a new generation.
Official Arca Website / Twitch / Patreon / Discord / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook
Oliver Coates Official Site / Instagram / Soundcloud / Bandcamp
