January 19, 2018 - Loma Vista Recordings
The 27-year-old Londoner Kelly Lee Owens rings in the new year with a rolling dream-techno take on ‘New York,’ the lead single from St. Vincent’s 2017 LP MASSEDUCTION. At four minutes and forty seconds, the track isn’t particularly long compared to the majority of minimal moody techno out there. But it falls in line with Owens’ previous work—only two tracks on her debut album went past the five-minute mark. Owens keeps it deceptively simple: straightforward percussion being driven by an undulating bass layer with a sprinkling of St. Vincent’s vocals floating hauntingly on top. The whole thing invokes a New York City subway train ride down the boat tunnel from 1971’s film Willy Wonka. It feels uneasy, with the tension being built throughout and never getting fully released, which leads to multiple consecutive listens.
In general, it’s best to keep remixes fairly removed from their originals. In many cases, such as with Owens' remix, the original track serves as a starting place or simply a source of vocal sampling. Without intimate knowledge of the two artists’ studio practices, it’s hard to pinpoint the amount of collaboration that goes into any particular project. With that aside, the march-like anthemic quality of the original ‘New York’ remains in tact in Owens’ remix. Instead of a prideful, positive anthem, however, it is a death march spiraling straight to the underbelly of the titular city. The lyrics become abstracted and almost spider-like; it really starts to sound like she’s the ‘only motherfucker in the city that can handle’ herself as she’s removed everyone else from the equation.
All of this plays well against the ethereal ping-pong-delayed sounds of a subway car going too fast down a directionless tunnel dripping with hi-hat triplets and staccato-ed synth stabs that we don’t want to get off of anytime soon. This is the track of January and it has us itching for more from the talented Kelly Lee Owens. 🍍