L'Rain (Deluxe Edition)

by L'Rain

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Gavin Hellyer Sensational debut in it's original form, of course, but this gargantuan deluxe edition is a monolithic beast of a thing. Perfect preparation for the indescribably great "Fatigue". Favorite track: Stay, Go (Go, Stay).

dreamshepherd Taja is an extremely talented songwriter and musician, it's damn hard to choose a favorite one here. Patiently waiting for your upcoming "Fatigue". Favorite track: Heavy (But Not in Wait).

yehezkielf Eagerly awaiting your next album. Favorite track: Heavy (But Not in Wait).

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Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Limited Edition 12" White Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Limited edition 12" white vinyl re-release of L'Rain's eponymous debut album. Includes digital download of the original album along with 18 new remixes.

Includes unlimited streaming of L'Rain (Deluxe Edition) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.	Heavy (But Not in Wait) 04:53	buy track
2.	Stay, Go (Go, Stay) 04:42	buy track
3.	Bat 02:22	buy track
4.	Alive and a Wake 02:28	buy track
5.	Benediction 00:36	buy track
6.	A Toes (Shelf Inside Your Head) 03:03	buy track
7.	Go, Stay (Stay, Go) 01:00	buy track
8.	July 14th, 2015 00:23	buy track
9.	Which Fork / I'll Be 06:58	buy track
10.	Heavy (But Not in Wait) (Sam O.B. Soweto Swing Mix) 06:41
11.	Heavy (But Not in Wait) (Dara Hirsch Remix) 05:08
12.	Heavy (But Not in Wait) (Zenizen Remix) 03:35
13.	Stay, Go (Anna Wise Remix) 06:06
14.	Stay, Go (Bae Bro Dstrct IX Remix) 04:51
15.	Stay, Go (Geng Silver Abyssmal Remix) 07:36
16.	Bat (Jon Bap Remix) 02:15
17.	Bat (Bliscord Remix) 02:31
18.	Bat (DJ Lady Lane Remix) 02:02
19.	Alive and a Wake (Eartheater Remix) 03:06
20.	A Toes (Shelf Inside Your Head) (Reese Donohue Remix) 03:13
21.	I'll Be (SCRAAATCH Remix) 05:15
22.	Which Fork (YOKUBARI and Jeremy Hyman Remix) 03:40
23.	Which Fork (Glasser Remix) 04:12
24.	Which Fork (Dane Remix) 03:06
25.	Which Fork (DOUZE Remix) 04:21
26.	Which Fork (Mishpokhe Klang Remix) 07:41
27.	Akeema-Zane - Elegy For Chandos 05:32

about

Time is twisted on L’Rain, the debut release by L’Rain (Taja Cheek), a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, tape manipulator and vocalist from Brooklyn.

Rising on a wave of synths and breathy sax, the album unfolds with electric guitar arpeggios and undulating vocal swells, unwrapping a dense psychedelic arrangement grounded by clattering acoustic drum patterns and the ephemeral soars of Cheek’s voice.

Reversed audio swells in track endings and beginnings obscure vocal content, exploring the same track from multiple angles and with different meanings. Reprised piano tape loops reflect Cheek’s formal music education, during which she would fixate on a phrase of piano sheet music and play it repeatedly, imagining new songs. The baroque pop aspects of L’Rain are marked by a childlike levity, deepening and mystifying the painful reality Cheek faced as an adult during its production: the loss of her mother.

Cheek’s mother became suddenly ill during the album’s writing and production, but grief appears in the recordings in a complicated way. The lyrics never explicitly mention her mother, as the songs were written with unrelated sorrow in mind. But by the end of producing L’Rain, the work turned out to be very much about her mother. “It’s almost like I caused her death in some way — the feeling is absurd, bigger than myself, a premonition.”

L’Rain comes off at times as morbid, pessimistic, and flippant while at other times smiley, bubbly, and effervescent. Like pressing play, fast forward, and rewind all at once, Cheek wanted to present a range of
emotions through her minimalist experiments. The result is particular
and real, yet impossible and panchromatic: a loop within a loop. Take
‘Benediction,’ a field recording that voyeuristically follows religious
practitioners just outside their place of worship. L’Rain locates a spiritual dimension just beyond her listeners’ experience, in the recursive logic of her own hearing.

credits

released September 15, 2017

Taja Cheek: Artist, Writer, Composer, Producer, Keyboards, Synths, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Samples, Percussion
Andrew Lappin: Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Nylon Guitar, Programming, Percussion
Alex Goldberg: Drums, Percussion, Additional Production
Jeremy Powell: Saxophone
Kyp Malone: Background Vocals
Jake Aron: Mixing
Chris Connors: Additional Mixing, Vocal Editing
Chris Gehringer: Mastering
Sam Obey: Sequencing, A&R, Remix Mastering
Jed Moch: Album artwork
Carlos Reyes: Album artwork

license

about

L'Rain Brooklyn, New York

Under the mononym L'Rain, Brooklyn native Taja Cheek has quickly become an
acclaimed and sought-after figure in New York experimental music. A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and vocalist, her songs are equally rooted in r&b, jazz, noise, and pop: at once visceral, spiritual, ethereal, and urgent. ... more

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