In between his collaborations with Björk and Arca, the visual artist is quickly becoming one of the figures of the new experimental electronic scene. The release of the EP comes alongside the launch of his new website that you can visit here. He also promised that there are more visuals coming out soon in next few weeks. In a statement, he explained briefly:

[su_quote]If you’d like more context, this is my website: http://jessekanda.com/ – it’s all the same world.[/su_quote]

You can listen to “Molting” and “Crinoline” below and listen to the entire EP here. You can also check the tracklist below.

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1- Bloodlet

2- Molting

3- Luna

4- Crinoline

5- Burning

6- Shed

7- Lamina

Artistic genius Arca and his long-time visual collaborator Jesse Kanda recently headlined a Boiler Room session at the London Roundhouse. A 24-minute long video of their show was then published and as expected it’s breathtaking. Arca‘s entrance features a strange track made of gun shots and whiplash sounds. The Venezuelan producer offered a mystical, bold and intriguing show like a forward-thinking guru in the middle of a fetish temple. The genre-bending and aesthetic explorator went obviously too far for Boiler Room and Youtube: the non-edited full performance was notably featuring fist fucking images in its backdrops.

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Arca‘s self-titled latest album was released last year via XL Recordings and was featured in our list Best Albums of 2017.

Keep things fresh and sassy with Arca over Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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1- Brendan Maclean – “House Of Air” (Director: Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston)

Brendan Maclean‘s “House of Air” is probably the NSFW-est video you might have seen this year. It is also one of the most realistic, controversial, and marketable one. Presented as an anthropological study of gay semiotics, taxonomies, and sexual behaviours”, the Hal Fisher-inspired video doesn’t dance around the topic to present gay sex, bondage and more. Strangely, the video was uploaded on YouTube and was banned ten days after with 700,000 views. Directed by Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston, the final rendition is graphic and can’t be more real. It it art, documentation, entertainment, or pornography? Here is the interest and no one can really answer but Maclean is sure about the artistic side of his proposition: “This was never a ‘marketable’ idea, but it was an original one that I cared about. Was it for everyone? Absolutely not. Has it been the most success I’ve had with anything ever? Absolutely.”

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2-SOPHIE – “It’s Okay To Cry” (Director: SOPHIE)

We are fans of SOPHIE’s work since Day 1 and with this new track and video, the producer is pushing the boundaries even further. For the first time ever, she is even starring in her video. SOPHIE appears as androgynous and the visuals come out with a statement from the artist who want to be referred to using she/her pronouns. The interesting part of the colorful emo-dramatic visuals mainly lies in the representation of nudity: as one can notice, SOPHIE is freely exhibiting her breast (and nipples) but YouTube did not censor anything. The appearance of the producer is so gender fluid though, that the arbitrations of YouTube on that specific topic seem to be totally outdated. And it’s useless to add that the fact she also used the same colors than our website was a solid artistic statement.

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3- Björk – “The Gate” (Director: Andrew Thomas Huang)

Alongside long time collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang, a dress by Gucci‘s Alessandro Michele and masks by James Merry, Björk delivers one of the most intense videos of the year. After exploring her sadness after the break-up of a 13 year-old relationship in “Vulnicura”, she decided that it was time to open herself again to love. From an open chest wound featured in the previous videos, there is a prismatic portal of futuristic lovers awaiting for her. In a world where everything is possible, there is space from healing of a hearbreak. The first single taken from her ninth album “Utopia” is an authentic piece of art, and it comes after years of pushing the limits of visual creations. Björk‘s ambition gets even bigger and we expect nothing less from her.

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The rest of videos are in no specific order.

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Young Thug – “Wyclef Jean” (Director: Ryan Staake)

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The Blaze – “Virile” (Director: The Blaze)

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lil peep x lil tracy – “witchblades” (Director:metro blu)

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Colin – “People Talk About Me” (Director: Steven Ross)

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ULYSSE – “Mañana” (Director: A$IAN ROCKY)

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Arca – “Reverie” (Director: Jesse Kanda)

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Kelela – “LMK” (Director: Andrew Thomas Huang)

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RIVE – “Justice” (Director: Ma-Ké, TEMPLE CACHÉ)

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Jinka – “Trash From The Past” (Director: Mario Clement)

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SSION – “Comeback” (Director: Cody Critcheloe)

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Perfume Genius – “Slip Away” (Director: Andrew Thomas Huang)

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Charli XCX – “Boys” (Director: Charli XCX and Sarah McColgan)

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Fever Ray – “To The Moon And Back” (Director: Martin Falck)

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Yaeji – “Last Breath” (Director: Kathy Yaeji Lee)

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FAKA – “Uyang’Khumbula” (Director: Nick Widmer)

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Kedr Livanskiy – “Your Name” (Director: Konstantin Bushmanov and Kedr Livanskiy)

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Kirin J Callinan x Alex Cameron x Molly Lewis x Jimmy Barnes – “Big Enough” (Director: Danny Cohen)

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Arca is, of course, Alejandro Ghersi the Venezuelan producer who has lent his extraterrestrial talent to albums like Yeezus, FKA Twigs‘ “LP1” and Björk‘s “Vulnicura”. This is hardly his first solo album (preceded by “Xen” and “Mutant”), but it is telling that this is the one he has named “Arca”.

Compared to his work with larger-than-life characters like Kanye, Björk and FKA twigs, his previously abstract, instrumental solo work has always struggled to arouse my interest. On Arca, however, he forcefully stakes his claim to be the rival to any of these mythological creatures. He certainly deserves to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with any of them in pop culture’s hallowed pantheon of eccentrics. As a gay Venezuelan who has modelled for streetwear brand Hood By Air, he’s hardly ever seemed like the shy, bedroom-dwelling stereotype of the electronic musician. Previously, though, this was something that was not immediately apparent from the surface of his music. Accordingly, the album opens with “Piel” baring his soul to us through his darkly melancholic vocals, which continue to dominate throughout. This album expertly blends the ultramodern IDM of previous albums with the ancient tradition of the lovelorn lament. Here, Arca puts his own spin on the avant-garde balladeer of a Tom Waits, a Scott Walker or, indeed, a Bjork. He seems to have found his own footing in combining the abstract impersonality of IDM with his own physicality — his voice, his sexuality, his nationality.

The video for “Anoche” straight away tells us what we need to know about Arca‘s new direction. While “Xen” put a fictional alien front-and-centre on the album’s cover art, here we see the man himself, wounded, and singing to us in a corset. It’s clear that this music is supposed to be raw and emotional in a way that his previous music wasn’t. He is quite literally bleeding for us, naked for us. “Anoche”, itself, is certainly a standout moment of the album. It certainly seems inspired by Björk‘s use of art’s experimental technique to speak emotional truth. The tracks that Ghersi produced for “Vulnicura” would also be this closest comparison to this expressively abstract sound. While tracks like “Anoche” and “Reverie” show off this style, he wisely mixes in tracks like ‘Castration’ that would’ve felt at home on Xen. Through combining these two styles, each seems more compelling, while our ear’s palette is constantly being given a chance to be cleansed.

Arca is in love with his sadness, to paraphrase Billy Corgan, and he could make you love your own too.

Arca feels unique to himself the way Tom Waits‘ “Rain Dogs” felt unique to him. While Waits conjured up a film noir version of New York populated with stock images of drunks, dames and jazz musicians, “Arca”‘s equally idiosyncratic world is far harder to articulate. Of course, it hardly helps that I don’t speak Spanish , but this album largely manages to smuggle its emotions over the language barrier. It’s like Richard Gere telling Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman” that you don’t need to speak Italian to understand opera. Like an abstract painting you can’t help but feel something, even if that something appears to be outside the realm of language. The aesthetic of the album might be considered through the “ocean of sadness” that Ghersi spoke of dwelling within him in an interview for i-D. He spoke of finding beauty in sadness, something that can certainly be heard here. This is an extraordinary sadness articulated through tears, blood and minor chords rather than the vacant stare and absence of meaning that is depression. Ghersi is in love with his sadness, to paraphrase Billy Corgan, and he could make you love your own too, but certainly try to avoid staying too long and drowning in this ocean.

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With “Arca”, Ghersi‘s solo work finally feels like it is of equal interest to his production for other artists; it no longer seems like a mere side-project. This is the artist drawing the spotlight in on himself and using his production wizardry to tell his own story, not someone else’s.

If “Vulnicura” mainly deals with the difficult end of her relationship with Matthew Barney, “Mouth Mantra” is maybe an exception. Indeed, the track focuses on a period when Björk was not able to speak for 3 weeks after a throat surgery back in 2012. The track, as the other ones on the album, is very intense as Björk explains that she was not heard and not able to do what she is able to.

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The artist explained to Dazed, which premiered the video:”i am so extremely grateful to jesse to be up for going on this journey …. it was brave of him to take it on and i feel spoiled having witnessed him grow , making hi tech mouth models and inventing cameras all to match a little therapeutic song about the throat . his dedication and devotion is overwhelming !!!
i am especially grateful for those sassy dancefloor moments we managed to squeeze in there aswell : true magic !!”

And the director answered: “If there’s one thing I’d like for people to take away from this video, it’s the power of vulnerability. That is what Björk’s album Vulnicura is all about to me, and hopefully this video reflects that. It’s about having the courage to express yourself and seeing yourself in that mirror. Doing something that scares the shit out of you and sharing it, growing from it, spreading love and courage to others and making the world a warmer place to be and relate to each other.”

By the way, Jesse Kanda is also a collaborator of Arca, who worked on Björk‘s last album.

As expected from the duo, the “Front Load” video is surreal, intense, and unfiltered—drifting in and out of focus, revealing flashes of skin, genital forms (hi penis), and pubic hair in a dreamlike, disorienting sequence. Is it experimental porn or a weird take on anatomy ? Not sure. It’s bold, bizarre, and undeniably them. Welcome to the art world of Arca and Jesse Kanda.

“Front Load” is the 12th track on Mutant, which spans 20 songs in total. With this release, Arca steps further into the light. While her debut album Xen explored her inner world and hidden emotions, Mutant reveals what she’s ready to show on the outside—confident, unafraid, and fully exposed.

You can watch the video for “Front Load” below:

Mutant is Arca’s highly anticipated second album, following her acclaimed 2014 debut Xen. Due out November 20, the record promises an expansive journey through 20 tracks of Arca’s shape-shifting sound. The album’s cover art is created by her long-time friend and collaborator Jesse Kanda, whose otherworldly visuals have become an integral part of Arca’s identity. In fact, one of the album’s earlier singles, “Soichiro,” was inspired by Kanda – the track is titled after Kanda’s middle name, a nod to their creative collaboration.

As of now, Arca has shared three songs from Mutant: “Soichiro,” “EN,” and now “Vanity,” each unveiling a different facet of the album’s mutant DNA.

“Vanity” comes to life with a visually arresting video co-directed by Arca herself alongside filmmaker Daniel Sannwald. The clip, shot in Paris, carries forward the haunting aesthetic Arca has established for Mutant’s visuals, blurring lines between beauty and discomfort. Arca describes the piece with the cryptic phrase “to softness as a weapon when the mind attacks itself,” hinting at an intimate battle where vulnerability becomes strength.

In signature Arca fashion, the video’s imagery is at once tender and unsettling – a surreal complement to the track’s turbulent soundscape. “Vanity” feels chaotic yet controlled, pushing the boundaries of electronic music with Arca’s avant-garde blend of distortion and sexuality that long-time listeners will find instantly recognizable.

Here is the tracklist of Arca‘s album Mutant:

01 Alive
02 Mutant
03 Vanity
04 Sinner
05 Anger
06 Sever
07 Beacon
08 Snakes
09 Else
10 Umbilical
11 Hymn
12 Front Load
13 Gratitude
14 EN
15 Siren
16 Extent
17 Enveloped
18 Faggot
19 Soichiro
20 Peonies

You can pre-order it here and listen to “EN” here