Totem

by Ryat

Ryat's album Totem is hard to describe without invoking the names of other projects, even though it is a very individual project.  Basically, this beautiful forty-minute disc could be pitched as "female Flying Lotus by way of Portishead and Mezzanine-era Massive Attack without the heavy bass lines".  Does that make sense?

Ryat both produces and provides vocals for this breath-taking album.  The Brainfeeder influence is clear on every track - she's clearly hanging out with FlyLo, Thundercat, and the rest, and she holds her own in their company.

Her lyrics and vocals are spacey and rather out there, but the entire album comes across as a very solid package.  This is worth checking out.