Aprxel (pronounced “april”) may be your favourite drainer’s favourite drainer. On her debut full-length tapetumlucidum<3, the Hanoi singer-songwriter’s voice bleeds into distorted, collage-like productions by Pilgrim Raid (aka Lengthy Trần). Each are members of Mona Evie, a collective of younger artists flourishing within the metropolis’s underground music scene. The album can also be a showcase of fellow Hanoian conceptualists, like noise wrangler Tran Uy Duc and sound artist Lý Trang, who produced Aprxel’s first EP AM, PM. Whereas the sample-based, deep-fried maximalism of friends like Jane Remover and Rắn Cạp Đuôi typically approaches hyperactivity, Trần’s productions saunter by way of glitched-out our on-line world as Aprxel’s smoky voice floats above the din. Amid the overstimulation and memey undertones of the present panorama, tapetumlucidum<3 is refreshingly heartfelt and grounded.

Whereas post-TikTok consideration spans have inspired many bed room artists to shorten the runtime of their tracks, Aprxel sings over instrumentals that meander and unravel into oblivion. “va’ng9999” begins with a dreamy interpolation of Little River Band’s “Reminiscing” that steadily will get chopped and screwed, finally surrendering to a wall of fuzz laid down by Lưu Thanh Duy of shoegaze outfit Nam Thế Giới. The noisy four-on-the-floor of “two” takes a left flip into swingy 2-step storage, whereas on “planet hollywood,” Aprxel sings over JPEGMAFIA-type beats that disintegrate into spiraling sax strains. When a minimalist dembow riddim edges its method in, you need to verify whether or not you’re nonetheless listening to the identical music.

These experiments may be hit-or-miss, however the document’s extra easy plugg’n’b center part is a easy synthesis of Raid’s low-bitrate SoundCloud beats and the midnight melancholy of Aprxel’s harmonies. “cbd” blends grim Memphis stylings with limpid synths, fusing a loop from Gimsim Household’s “Concern No Evil” with saccharine Vietnamese pop balladry. And whereas she’s rapped for Mona Evie earlier than, Aprxel’s staccato bars on “inanna” really feel extra confident, reducing by way of Jersey-club mattress squeaks.

Between the cruel noise of “terrorizers” and the angelic strings of “escape 2 farewell,” solely Aprxel’s vocal efficiency holds Raid’s concoctions collectively. At instances, her voice battles a flood of samples that threaten to drown her out. “cbd” is discordant, akin to Kelela’s notorious detuned 808 on “Closure.” However on “by no means can say goodbye,” Aprxel’s voice pierces by way of with startling readability; on the next observe, she places a little bit Björk in it, the strings swelling to a poignant peak. Her voice fractures into shard-like vocables within the ultimate part of “escape 2 farewell,” flitting alongside an prolonged pattern of a demo by Kyoto glitch artist sora. Alone in a digital cacophony, Aprxel sings to ease the ache, hoping somebody out there may be listening. With a knack for adapting to the musical chaos that characterizes her hometown, Aprxel’s voice carries past the town; it’s solely a matter of time earlier than it’s heard.