Lorn: Intangibly Forlorn

By Alif Omar Mahfix  •  in Music
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Flying Lotus’ label Brainfeeder isn’t just limited to producers from the LA beat scene, last 2010 they released Milwaukeean producer Lorn’s LP, Nothing Else, to great acclaim.  But he seems to want home to be even farther away and is now releasing his sophomore, Ask the Dust, under London-based label Ninja Tune. Like a lot of his peers, Lorn is a literature-minded beatmaker, which explains the John Fante-referencing album title – a beatmaker referencing a proto-beat writer.

Such cross medium allusion might be too clever for us philistines, yet the first single off his sophomore, ‘Ghosst(s)’, is more accessible than the electronic music equivalent of beat fiction’s run-off sentences that you were expecting. In fact, despite the apparitional title, the track sees Lorn growing humane with the use of his vocals (an experiment he tried on the last track of his previous album).

The vocals’ ghostly quality is more forlorn, carrying weight in the insubstantial, while Lorn’s beat is as crushing and brutal as it typically gets. To further feel the effect of ‘Ghosst(s)’, JUICE recommends you to experience it via its official video by French powerhouse CRCR. Ask the Dust was released on Ninja Tunes last 18 June.

ninjatune.net/artist/lorn