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Feb 11, 2021 By Dom Gourlay Web Exclusive

Tomorrow (Friday 12th February) sees the debut solo release by Alicia Breton Ferrer. Better known as the founder member and voice of Dutch experimental noise outfits The Sweet Release of Death and Neighbours Burning Neighbours. Alicia spent the first lockdown of 2020 recording a bunch of songs in her plant-filled apartment on Rotterdam’s waterfront.

Being a multi-instrumentalist, Alicia had everything around her to start creating. Combined with a long standing curiosity for production, there was no reason or time constraint not to try. Alicia adopted a playful way of composing music, which started with creating sounds on her old Casio keyboard and re-amping them into oblivion. These were then layered with rhythms, bass and guitar, which eventually turned into a full length album.

The first fruits of her labours is a single entitled “Having Fun” which will then be followed by another single (“Red Alert”) next month before album Headache Sorbet drops in April. All are to be released on new independent imprint Glove Compartment, a subsidiary of highly respected Dutch label Subroutine.

“Having Fun” started as an experiment to explore part of Alicia’s Spanish roots. Reminiscent of flamenco, the song feels like a melancholic blanket you can pull over your head to become a dancing ghost Headache Sorbet. Dark yet fun, it enjoys flipping the tragic nature of flamenco to a more ironic musing of things to enjoy or not. The accompanying music video, created by Alicia and friends in her own home, is a visualisation of the brooding yet playful theme of the song. Soaking in pink lights, it provides a lo-fi behind the scenes glimpse of how the album came together. Featuring Alicia’s cat and room mate Iggy, videographers Kat Kalkman and Charlene van Kasteren plus illustrator Lot van Teylingen.

The free and unconfined manner in which “Having Fun” was recorded, represents the process of creating Headache Sorbet as a whole.

“I started experimenting with individual sounds and from this the songwriting arose, bit by bit, recording while improvising. Amidst the angst, anxiety, I felt, especially at the beginning of the lockdown, this way of creating and writing gave me a practical way of handling the chaos of today and a very unclear future. It brings out something new and pure; a reflection on how I am experiencing this moment, rather than how I would normally analyze or overthink it,” says Alicia.

“Having Fun” comes out tomorrow across all streaming platforms.

The album Headache Sorbet follows on 23^rd April as a limited edition cassette and digital download via the Glove Compartment label.

https://aliciabretonferrer.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/alicia.bretonferrer

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