Whatever the Weather

AlbumApr 08 / 202211 songs, 45m 54s
Ambient IDM
Popular Highly Rated

On her previous releases for Hyperdub, Loraine James has developed a musical language of broken beats and granular textures, one where catharsis arrives in splintered glimpses through a smashed-up windshield. But on her eponymous debut under a new alias, Whatever The Weather, the UK experimental musician explores more subdued energy. It’s a concept album of sorts: The song titles are each keyed to a different temperature meant to evoke an emotional response. The ambient “25°C” summons a drowsy summer afternoon, while “0°C” is brittle as fresh ice, and “2°C (Intermittent Rain)” is as gloomy as ‘80s dream-pop goths This Mortal Coil. What it all shares (apart from the jittery “17°C,” a flashback to the artist’s roots) is an interest in slowing down and tuning into more meditative mind states, where immersion takes precedence over disruption.

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7.8 / 10

Adopting a new alias, UK electronic musician Loraine James swaps out jagged beats for ambient textures and sketch-like improvisations mapped to different lines on the thermometer.

The debut release by Loraine James' Whatever the Weather side project largely departs from her more club-informed recordings under her own name, instead focusing on textural experiments and moody ambient pieces.

8 / 10

Loraine James - Whatever The Weather

8 / 10

Unsurprisingly, it turns out Loraine James is also an excellent ambient musician as Whatever the Weather – debut album reviewed

8 / 10