Amelouk – No Appetite (2022)
Amelouk is taking on heartache and detachment through her double single release No Appetite. Across the two tracks, she drives into painful obsession, only to move to detached thoughts of failure in both love and music. As her first official release, this two-track EP introduces her dark and experimental tones to all of us.
A one-woman band, Amelouk writes, composes, records and produces everything herself. For over a decade, she has been making music using acoustic instrumentation, but has turned to more electronic devices for this release. After quitting her job and PhD studies, she is turning her passion for making music into something much more intentional. While her music might not be something that everyone will enjoy, the unique tones are a wonderful listening experience that everyone should at least try.
The EP opens with ‘Cocktail’ which draws you into a slightly sleep-deprived vibe. The movement of the music has a light warp to the tones that tinges the world when you are slightly hungover and haven’t had enough sleep. The rather woozy feeling to the music is enhanced by the deep horn tones that lead you into the deep vibrating beats. Over all of this, Amelouk’s vocals float and waver through the soundscape. She draws you into a spiral of thoughts that touch on failure and a strange sense of yearning. It is a misty movement that makes your limbs heavy while your brain is still running even at a rather sluggish pace. The instrumentation on this track is like a dark breathing entity that enthrals you from start to finish.
‘Passion Sour’ takes the EP into a different spiral of emotion as you fall into a painful obsession with someone. The warping tones that make an appearance in the last track have a heavier hand in the melody of this one. There is a strange vibe to the soundscape as the music and vocals grasp at your clothing and tug only to let go as you stumble forward. The darkness of the track twirls around you like tendrils of smoke, leading you further down the path of obsession. The passion you feel for someone turns into something dark and unhealthy through the track and this is brought to wonderful glory by the vocals. Amelouk’s voice reaches out from the smoky darkness to sigh against your ears and breathe down your neck. While experimental in tone, it is a sophisticated arrangement that brings something rather intangible to solid life.
Amelouk uses dark experimental tones to bring the spiral of obsession and detached contemplations of failure to life in No Appetite. The two tracks of the EP use dark and strange tones in different ways to bring the emotions and story of the lyrics to life. While quite different to other music out there, the combination of the elements is masterful in its execution.
Find out more about Amelouk on her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
