Inga Copeland “Obsession 2”

24 May 2013 — Henning Lahmann

This morning, Pitchfork once again substantiated our suspicion that they simply don't get Hype Williams, neither their art in and of itself, nor the duo's approach to pop music and culture more general, though you probably can't really accuse them of not trying ever since the Londoners received too much recognition and acclaim for the top dog to justify ignoring them any longer. These days, everything Dean Blunt and Inga Copeland drop seems to be another Doldrums, too out there to absolve yet too ambitious and in-your-face artsy to just leave it alone at the end of the day. Let's keep waiting for the duo's Before Today moment to occur then.

Speaking of, there are signs that if any of the two, it's Inga Copeland who seems to be both competent and willing to deliver that moment. Ever since starting to put out solo material, her candid pop aspirations have been out in the open, and Copeland's latest collection of songs, the six-track mixtape Higher Powers, recorded last year and available now for free via Soundcloud, is yet another very compelling reminder of that. All tracks are further proof of the artist's ability to turn the messy and deranged Hype Williams raw material into humble gems of farouche and simple beauty, but "Obsession 2" develops into something especially spellbinding, an aloof, disconnected piece that's built around a curiously primitive, off-kilter synth line, something you'd come up with drunk at a stranger's house party on one of the host's keyboards standing around in the living room, before admitting to the other guests (who didn't ask, nor were about to) the obvious fact that you really don't play any instruments. Here however, in Copeland's hands, for some reason pure sublimity emerges. All alone.