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