Album Review: Renaissance

Wellington based Transgressive vocalist and producer Valentina, has just released her debut album Renaissance. Described as a “Hyperpop album”, it is filled with wonder, exploring a diverse range of genres such as Bubblegum Pop, UK Garage, Techno, 90’s House with elements of Classical and Baroque. You know when all those elements combine, that you are in for an interesting aural experience.

Within the quirky mix of genres and candid lyrics, is still the cyber-pop sound of the artist formerly known as Hybrid Rose. Incorporating fresh progressive lyrics with tight beats, touches of soul and a futuristic sound Renaissance is a creation of many uniquely wonderful layers.

Opening track, the empowering tonight I’m Gonna Be My Own Hero is an introduction to the robotic like vocal sounds. Gently easing you into the album (or not so gently, as the case may be).

As I moved through Renaissance my initial impression was, you will either love it or you won’t. The more I listened to the album the more I heard, and the more I heard made me realise it most certainly was not black and white.

Track two ignited the old 90’s techno spark in me. The Kuntess is a solid tune with a clean, catchy dance beat. This is a personal favourite drawing me in with frank lyrics incorporating the trippy robotic sound which weaves through a majority of the tracks.

As we progress, the addition of feature artists make an appearance. Wouldn’t You Like To Know (feat. Hazel Rose), Level Up (feat. LOZ), and finally The New Empress (feat. XTIE).

The latest single and third off the ranks from her upcoming body of work, Wouldn’t You Like To Know (feat. Hazel Rose) tells “an explicit story of exploitation and fetishization around transgender-identifying people in society”. Hazel Rose is a US Rapper based in San Francisco with a strong following and powerful voice. With many strings to her bow, Hazel Rose is also a talented songwriter, recording artist, producer, facilitator and multimedia creative. Wouldn’t You Like To Know is a gritty track where both artists complement each other vocally, accompanied by a backdrop of glitchy futuristic sound. This track is another strong single to be released off the album.

The title track Renaissance, appears toward the end of the album as an instrumental classical score which adds another layer of depth to this wondrously unpredictable soundscape.

Renaissance is unexpectedly weird yet wonderful in an unpredictable unique way. Loads of trippy synth and captivating beats, with a touch of fragmented ethereal low-fi. Valentina has successfully taken “celestial shimmery synth-pop from the 80’s”, and turned it on its head.