2023 studio album by Ana Roxanne and DJ Python
Natural Wonder Beauty Concept | ||||
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Studio album by Ana Roxanne and DJ Python | ||||
Released | July 14, 2023 (2023-07-14) | |||
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Genre | Electronic music | |||
Length | 38:50 | |||
Language | English | |||
Label | Mexican Summer | |||
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Ana Roxanne chronology | ||||
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—Ana Roxanne on themes in Natural Wonder Beauty Concept.“When we were done, we noticed there’s a theme of falling and it comes out in different ways. It’s not just falling in love. it’s a descent into feeling, losing your sanity, or choosing to do something that’s bad... Feeling hopeless about certain aspects of life.”
Natural Wonder Beauty Concept is a 2023 collaborative album between American experimental musician Ana Roxanne and Ecuadorian electronic musician DJ Python. It has received positive reviews from critics.
Reception
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Paul Simpson writing that this album "bears hardly any resemblance to Roxanne's intimate, R&B-influenced ambient or Python's signature fusion of deep house and reggaetón" and is "a curious and exploratory album that incorporates ever-mutating electronic beats, abstract neo-classical interludes, and cloudlike atmospheric textures, making "a strange, sometimes unsettling record that attempts to make sense of displacement and detachment, and it's most effective when it also provides a sense of comfort and reassurance". Online retailer Bandcamp chose this for Album of the Day and critic Ann-Derrick Gaillot wrote that "atmospheric production, metallic samples, and graceful melodies dance across Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, reminiscent of blinking satellites winding past each other through deep space", making an album that "crystallizes the discomfort of floating through space alone into an electronic-ambient-pop experience for all to share". An overview of the best releases of the week from The Fader included Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, highlighting "Driving" as a stand-out track.
Editors at Pitchfork Media scored this release 7.4 out of 10 and critic Sam Goldner wrote that the musicians "set about exploring the shared spaces in their practices, uncovering subtle new emotional territories in the process", with some tracks that occasionally tend toward "formlessness" and "a nondescript electronic haze", but which ultimately "shines is in the way it uses Roxanne and Piñeyro’s common ground to reveal deeper textures buried within each artist’s work". Writing for Resident Advisor, Miguel Otárola stated that "Roxanne's steadfast performance that gives the album its strongest moments", calling her vocal delivery "nimble and cathartic", summing up that the musicians have "a winning formula bursting with possibilities". In The Skinny, Joe Creely scored this release 3 out of 5 stars, calling this "a collaboration that meshes their individual styles to occasionally superb ends", continuing that "sonically the record is magnificent, every sound feels perfectly formed and mulled over until it achieves the ideal balance of dreamy and claustrophobic".
Track listing
All songs written by Brian Piñeyro and Ana Roxanne.
- "Fallen Angel" – 4:00
- "Sword" – 3:05
- "III" – 3:44
- "The Veil I" – 3:02
- "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept" – 4:24
- "The Veil II" – 3:30
- "Young Adult Fiction" – 4:53
- "Driving" – 4:02
- "Clear" – 3:04
- "World Freehand Circle Drawing" – 5:04
Personnel
- DJ Python – instrumentation, vocals
- Ana Roxanne – instrumentation, vocals
- Al Carlson – recording, additional production, additional mixing at Gary's Electric Studio
- Alejandro Carrion – artwork
- Brian Foote – recording, additional production
- Alexandra Tults – layout
- CZ Wang – recording, additional production, mixing at Casa de Haiku, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States*Joshua Eustis – audio mastering
See also
References
- Velasquez, Juan (July 13, 2023). "Ana Roxanne and DJ Python Make Night Music for Day People". Music. them. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- Simpson, Paul (n.d.). "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept – Natural Wonder Beauty Concept". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- Galliot, Ann-Derrick (July 12, 2023). "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept, "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept"". Bandcamp Daily. Bandcamp. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- "New Music Friday: Stream new projects from J Hus, Alaska Reid, Blake Mills, and more". Music / Hip-Hop. The Fader. July 14, 2023. ISSN 1533-5194. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- Goldner, Sam (July 14, 2023). "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept: Natural Wonder Beauty Concept Album Review". Albums. Pitchfork Media. Condé Nast. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- Otárola, Miguel (July 14, 2023). "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept – Natural Wonder Beauty Concept". Reviews · Albums. Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- Creely, Joe (July 10, 2023). "Natural Wonder Beauty Concept – Natural Wonder Beauty Concept". Arts & Entertainment / Music / Reviews / Albums. The Skinny. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
External links
- Natural Wonder Beauty Concept at Discogs (list of releases)
- Natural Wonder Beauty Concept at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
- Page from Mexican Summer
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