Leptirica is a cavernous yet intricate package rooted in a love of synthesized sound, balancing transformation with a criticism of modern struggles. The intimate debut remains danceable with electronics, drum machines and guitar, pulling influences everywhere from Alice Deejay to Clan of Xymox to Scott Walker.
With songs that began as poems from as far back as 2013 in Flagstaff, Arizona and home-recording taking place in Tucson from 2018 to 2021 with mixing in Brooklyn, the timeline results in a multifaceted view of the musician. One stretching from an era of uncertain faith, though a “deconversion,” and into a new world of spirituality, mortality and sexuality.
Surreal dance tracks progress from romantic visions to heavier EBM production, then manage to blend to the two styles seamlessly — with Kell’s voice like volcanic glass. Connecting with the themes of metamorphosis and gender identity, the industrial rhythms work as a literal and metaphorical breaking down of the old.
The project stems from a dysfunctional relationship with songwriting, where music can either be intricately polished from rubble, or seemingly materialized from another world — a celebration of metamorphosis, even with all the complications that go with it.
With songs that began as poems from as far back as 2013 in Flagstaff, Arizona and home-recording taking place in Tucson from 2018 to 2021 with mixing in Brooklyn, the timeline results in a multifaceted view of the musician. One stretching from an era of uncertain faith, though a “deconversion,” and into a new world of spirituality, mortality and sexuality.
Surreal dance tracks progress from romantic visions to heavier EBM production, then manage to blend to the two styles seamlessly — with Kell’s voice like volcanic glass. Connecting with the themes of metamorphosis and gender identity, the industrial rhythms work as a literal and metaphorical breaking down of the old.
The project stems from a dysfunctional relationship with songwriting, where music can either be intricately polished from rubble, or seemingly materialized from another world — a celebration of metamorphosis, even with all the complications that go with it.