Description
Label Review.
2017 album.
Our Overview.
‘Xenoula’ is the eponymous debut album from Romy Xeno aka Xenoula. Romy spent her early years in South Africa where she was influenced by the elemental songs of nearby villagers and the (tranquil) rhythms of nature. Here she developed an introspective affinity with flora and fauna rather than with man and machines.
When Romy moved back to the UK at the age of 16, the culture shock and collision of two contrasting worlds inspired her to make music as a way of communicating her feelings about her new surroundings to the crowds of people she instinctively shied away from.
For Romy, Xenoula is an exploration of nature and human contradictions. The music is infused with memories of her childhood in South Africa, her experiences in the sprawling cities of Europe and with the realm of the ethereal and mysterious. Recently retreating to the quieter climes of north Wales, Romy forged the sounds of Xenoula.
Teaming up with producer Sam Dust aka LA Priest whose recent work includes his own debut solo album as well as Connan Mockasin collaboration Soft Hair, Xenoula’s songs are adorned in a chameleon-like coat of shape-shifting sonic textures, and glide over an energetic core of ground-shaking rhythm.
Xenoula takes the listener from the brooding, electric clouds and bubbling synths of ‘Chief of Tin’, to the sun-warped bassline pop of ‘Caramello’ as we move further into Xenoula’s enthralling universe.