erin buku: lessons in love
Francisco Espregueira
Hailing from Adelaide, Australia, Erin Buku is a vocalist, producer and DJ that we’ve been following for a while via many great collaborations with associated acts and artists like Planetself or Inkswell. Her new EP, Lessons In Love, is a luminous five track (including a remix from the genius Kaidi Tatham) debut introducing the artist’s signature blend of synth heavy hip hop soul, where chunky production by Erin and her collaborators underpins soulful vocals. Released by Hopestreet Recordings, the record approaches feelings of optimism, truth and beauty contextualized in the chaos of life. Written at a difficult time in the artist’s life, Lessons In Love carries a special light and groovy rhythms that are reminiscent of golden era neo soul and r&b, but with a UK broken beat and future soul twist.
Lessons In Love is almost entirely self produced, counting with the contribution of additional funky textures by Inkswell, mostly in the drum department. Musically, synthesizers and digital drums dominate the musical landscape while rhodes, muted trumpets and electric bass add organic touches. The result is a spacious, uncluttered sound. From the other-worldly “Artemus”, to the slinky “One And Only”, the dreamy “I See The Light” and the straight-up banger “Humble”, Lessons In Love effortlessly feels like an incense candle in a dim-lighted room. Having dropped last friday, Erin Buku’s debut is available on all streaming and download platforms and as a limited edition 12 inch vinyl EP.