Future-facing immersive electronics
Who they?
London-based electronic musician Halina Rice dabbles in tech-house, experimental and downtempo sounds, using samples and distorted/glitch effects to create vivid, beat-laden tracks with one eye on the dancefloor. Although she started out playing live and helping to curate electronic nights around the capital, Rice first came to prominence with 2015’s pulsating ‘Krin’ EP, all noir-ish dubstep thrills and hip hop/electro cut-ups. Her 2017 debut album, ‘Redux’, continued the trajectory, adding big, Goldfrapp-y pop hooks to her armoury with shimmering singles such as ‘KWYMO’ and ‘Drive’.
Why Halina Rice?
Maintaining the upward momentum, new single ‘Spheres’ is a sublime and infectious piece of electronic mastery. The intro briefly apes the BBC’s ‘Tomorrow’s World’ theme, before giving way to woozy sampled vocals, warm analogue sounds and a flurry of synthetic handclaps, like Oneohtrix Point Never remixed by Jamie xx. Magnificent. Far too short at just under three glorious minutes, but it leaves you yearning for more and certainly whets the appetite for what’s to come.
Tell us more…
Rice dabbles in virtual reality, too. Rather than having an album in the offing, ‘Spheres’ is the first part of a self-released project that will showcase a series of new tracks, each one with its own “virtual environment” in which Rice can perform live. Her recent virtual livestream, a stunning installation-like experience with abstract 3D visuals (by AV artist/motion designer, Jan Petyrek), featured Rice performing as a digital hologram in a virtual spacey landscape, surrounded by twinkling stars and rotating planets. “It’s about creating an experience that transports the viewer,” she explains. “The future of the project is to take it into live venues and make it completely immersive for the audience.” How very Kraftwerk. Can’t wait.
‘Spheres’ is out now on AWAL
