Briana Marela has recently released two singles from her forthcoming album My Inner Rest—a collection of 12 songs performed in multiple live takes by Marela in the Mills College concert hall, and which is out on June 6 via AKP Recordings. “Vibrant Sheen,” which arrived last month with a hypnotic video, is built around arpeggiated synths and the subtle drone of layered vocals. Marela touches up her voice with Auto-Tune and other effects, creating an otherworldly experience that features her pushing against the instrumental to create a playful tension.
Regarding the video, Marela explained: “Filmed in a one day shoot, we had a relatively simple, yet minimal and elegant concept. I sang the song at double speed, so that the video could be slowed to half speed to give it a dreamier quality. There is a tonal shift from darkness to daylight, and afterwards Chris [5kcandle] tastefully chose video processing overlays to enhance the world we created.”
The newer cut, “Grasshopper,” kicks off with an a cappella performance from Marela, who then loops melodies and quick dashes of synthesizer strings to create a landscape of an eerie yet warm distant planet. She treats her voice like another electronic tool, digitizing it around fragments of her “regular” voice, building a conversation between these two worlds.
My Inner Rest will arrive digitally and on limited run cassette and CD, which you can pre-order here. Check out “Vibrant Sheen” and “Grasshopper“ below.
