Smurphy‘s fans have been tracking the Mexico City producer’s electronic spiderwebs since her departure from NAAFI at the end of 2015. But after a move to Los Angeles and a pair of releases on her own indie label r-ch-v, she’s back with the intensely intellectual weaves of sound she’s known for. She even has a new persona to accompany the fresh material: Upgrayyed Smurphy.
“External changes provoke internal changes even if someone doesn’t want them or recognizes it,” Upgrayyed told us upon the release of this 34-minute mix, which premieres today on Remezcla. It’s a sneak preview at Mexico City collective ENSAMBLE’s third anniversary party on Saturday, where Smurphy is set to perform.
It’s far from the first time the artist has entered a new creative phase. At 20 years old, Smurphy teamed up with producer Bona (aka Dr. Dude) to form high-decibel electro punk group Post-Pastel. The duo reconfigured their collaboration for Supermad, an acid house project for which Smurphy wrote lyrics and sang.
The producer says this mix is an excerpt from her upcoming album HYPNOSYS, which will also be released on r-ch-v. Smurphy says the tracks were inspired by her study of the album’s eponymous form of mental control, and in particular the effects incurred by urban overstimulation. “This album/mix is especially inspired by the neurosis that I get from living by a freeway or busy street. The sound of the cars that never stops, the traffic, the smog. Like a sense of hearing that you can never turn off, not even when you’re asleep.”
An effort to map cognitive stress through music seems right at home in the context of ENSAMBLE, which has a reputation for producing events and audio releases that probe the outer limits of audio-cognitive reckoning. Smurphy says that she’s been attending ENSAMBLE events for a minute, and, no surprise given her own track record, has been impressed by the “different” vibe and continued innovation that the group fields. “Above all, I like a party where the hype disappears and the most important thing is the music,” she says. Feel free to forget names entirely as you switch mental lanes on her new auditory sequence.
JAM006, ENSAMBLE’s third anniversary party, goes down Saturday, January 28 in Mexico City. To purchase tickets, click here.
