Raven Artson – Transformia

As the title suggests, Transformia explores ideas of self-transformation within relationships. Packed with narratives of romance, self discovery and character building, it wouldn’t be criminal to call this record a guide for young lovers and new intimacies. It recognises the imperfections of a relationship (with oneself or someone else) and accentuates them. 

With its self-portrait-like approach, the record makes its first step with ‘Rash Of Independence’, a glimmering introduction to Artson as a largely confident protagonist. Transformia quickly embraces its melancholic undertones via weeping synth lines on ‘Dusk Or Dawn’, before making that sadness even more central to the title track. The record gets darker with the growing introspection of ‘IDFMS’ and ‘Fucked Up’, magnifying Artson’s dissonant aesthetics.

The record is not as much a genre-bending experience as it is an archive of several existing styles. Artson traverses through them gracefully, although the genre diversity often gets overpowered by the vocal-first approach. The self-reflection on the record can feel unfinished, partly due to lack of instrumental quiet; yet much of Transformia glimmers with relatable stories. This is an expressionist album, with each track as divergent from the next as they are conceptually connected.