- Through breakout EPs for Anunnaki Cartel and Mannequin, JASSS has proven she can stir up a dance floor. On Weightless, her debut album, the club takes a back seat to the artist's creative vision and avant-garde sound design. Silvia Jiménez Alvarez has no formal musical training per se. She's only been DJing for the last two years and has performed a handful of live shows in that time. She's a fresh and daring new talent whose interests span styles, eras and continents.
The LP is roughly split between soundscapes and more danceable tracks. But those that nod to the floor—"Oral Couture," "Weightless," "Instantaneous Transmission Of Information" and "To Eat With Dirty Hands"—aren't clubby in a conventional sense. Beats play second fiddle to melodies and atmospheres. "Oral Couture" and "To Eat With Dirty Hands," both built from granular, bass-heavy foundations, are the weightiest of these tracks.
Weightless's other half is even better. "Every Single Fish In The Pond" begins with distant tribal rumblings, then adopts a more threatening industrial tone. The change is seamless, as is the mingling of hi-hats and field recordings of scraping metals. Another striking transition occurs on "Danza." Muted pistons pump persistently at the start; the sound of a Persian santur wafts alluringly about the cogs and gears. The machines then give way to hand drum rhythms before, out of nowhere, a Middle Eastern bass skank ensues. "Cotton For Lunch" is a tribute to Alvarez's parents and their love of jazz. "Theo Goes Away" is droning and formidable at first, but achingly melancholic pads appear later. They'll leave you feeling wretched by the end.
JASSS now has a residency, via Mannequin, at Berghain's Säule and a collection of inventive releases. She's come a long way in a few short years—not in an explosive, trendy sense, but quietly and genuinely. If Weightless is the shape things to come, there is much to look forward to.
Tracklist01. Every Single Fish In The Pond
02. Oral Couture
03. Danza
04. Cotton For Lunch
05. Weightless
06. Theo Goes Away
07. Instantaneous Transmission Of Information
08. To Eat With Dirty Hands