Since storming the electro-R&B scene with her sensual beats in late 2014, Awwz has maintained a low profile by dropping select tracks and hitting the tour circuit, which has taken her across her native Spain and Latin America. All this without an official release to her name – until now. Glid, her first official EP, doesn’t disappoint – it’s branded with the same #ShowerMusic tag that caught our attention over a year ago. It largely follows the same formula of what made us fall in love with Awwz in the first place – a psychedelic, flirtatious collection of bass, synths, and dreamy vocals that envelop you like a warm blanket.
Opener “7Suns” contains shimmering synths and echoing bass, accompanied by guest vocals from Demmy Sober, who does her best Lana Del Rey impression with lines like “Do I really need to tell you you’re the one?” Like Del Rey, coy roleplaying takes center stage – though there’s a sense that both Sober and Awwz are anything but shy.
On “U_R,” Awwz opens with slightly more aggressive and in-your-face synths, slowly intertwined with warped vocal samples. A slightly reworked version of her earlier single “Bimba” – here titled “BimbArwk” – is also included, featuring the same looped vocals and pulsing bass as the original, but with more poise and a build that launches quicker than the first version.
The highlight of the set, though, is “Trobble,” a collaboration with Barcelona-based singer and producer Bearoid (aka Dani Belenguer). The track opens with rainforest soundscapes before jettisoning off to deep space, lifted by an ethereal, ominous tone that matches the masochistic lyrics (“No future,” a female vocalist wails, before Bearoid proclaims, “I love when you get me in trouble”). It maintains the #ShowerMusic vibe while also taking on a moodiness that isn’t present in much of Awwz’s previous work.
Glid ends with “Lotus,” a brief outro just over a minute long that plays like a victory lap. With more screwed vocals and foreboding, stadium-ready synths, the track sounds like the fight song of a champion boxer ready to take on his biggest rival. Similarly, Awwz seems poised to break out into the Spanish electro-R&B scene in her own otherworldly, slightly aloof way.
It’s a conversation we wish were a mere bullet point in 2016, but the fact that Awwz is gaining ground in a game that is 95 percent male is noteworthy. There’s a lightness to Glid that could easily dismissed as carefree, but it’s clear that Awwz takes her craft as a dreamy beatmaker seriously. If her first official EP is any indication, we’ll be looking forward to taking more 30-minute showers with the Awwz sound in the future.