Belgian-Caribbean artist and Soulwax protégée Charlotte Adigéry, also known with her lo-fi moniker WWWater, has announced the release of a new EP on the Dewaele brothers’s DEEWEE label. The 5-track project is the result of her collaboration with Bolis Pupul, a descendant of the first and only wave of Chinese immigration to Martinique, who she happened to meet via Tinder.

We can already dance to the first single “Paténipat”, which refers to the phrase “zandoli pa té ni pat” – a Creole mnemonic meaning “the gecko didn’t have any legs”. Building bridges between cultures, this technoid track offers a trance-like crescendo while playfully drawing from the rhythms of the GWO KA dances that would have swayed the islanders of Martinique a century ago. About “Paténipat”, Adigéry detailed:

[su_quote]If in life you feel tired and hopeless, throw off all the stuff that don’t matter in the end. Dance until you’re dizzy. Be your naked and uncompromising self.[/su_quote]

Following up on her promising 2017 EP La Falaise, Charlotte Adigéry, aka WWWATER, is back with a buoyant new track. With “Screen”, the Ghent-based singer-songwriter and producer places unhealthy internet behaviour and social network addiction on blast. If you’re chasing likes on Instagram, have mastered the art of scrolling, stalk people on Facebook, or need the opinion of influencers on Twitter to help form your own, then you’re one of the victims she half-ironically sings about.

“Screen” also comes with an amazing Tina Herbots-directed video that will remind you of those interminable seconds you have to wait when your connection freezes. Energetic and rebellious, “Screen” is certainly going to warm up Adigery‘s upcoming gigs (that you need to experience IRL, with your phone off obviously).

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Following the release of 2017’s From Deewee – the Belgian duo’s first studio album in 12 years – Soulwax will release Essential, a new album featuring 12 original tracks inspired by the concept of the now infamous mix series, with each song being sequentially named from “Essential One” to “Essential Twelve”. About their Essential Mix, the electro-rock band of the Dewaele brothers stated:

[su_quote]When we were approached to make an Essential Mix for the BBC,” said the band, “we chose to do what every sane human being would do—we decided to lock ourselves into our studio for two weeks and make an hour of new music based around the word ‘essential,’ instead of preparing a mix of already existing music.[/su_quote]

Listen below to “Essential Four” featuring Charlotte Adigéry, aka WWWater. Essential will be released on June 22 on their own label, DEEWEE.

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100. CITY FATHER – “Coquette”

99. BILLIE EILISH – “Bellyache”

98. SABRINA CLAUDIO – “Belong To You”

97. PETRA GLYNT – “Fell In A Hole”

96. HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR + SHARON VAN ETTEN – “Omnion”

95. GIRLI – “Hot Mess”

94. THE SOFT MOON – “Burn”

93. J.I.D – “Never”

92. ACE TEE + KWAM.E – “Bist Du Down?”

91. CRALIAS – “Hope You Are”

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90. CHROMATICS – “Shadow”

89. RUN THE JEWELS – “Legend Has It”

88. CARDI B – “Bodak Yellow”

87. YELLOW DAYS – “Hurt In Love”

86. JFDR – “Airbone”

85. SUSANNE SUNDFØR – “Undercover”

84. TOM TRIPP – “Aurelia”

83. SUPERORGANISM – “Something For Your M.I.N.D.”

82. KAN WAKAN – “Still Feather”

81. NILÜFER YANYA – “Baby Luv”

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80. WAKE CHILD – “In The End”

79. JAJA BU – “Sweetness”

78. ALVVAYS – “Dreams Tonite”

77. KIDÄ – “Bone Mother”

76. HÅN – “The Children”

75. ULYSSE – “Mañana”

74. SHY GIRLS – “You Like The Pain Too”

73. GOURMET – “Delicious”

72. SORCHA RICHARDSON – “4AM”

71. MILLIE TURNER – “Underwater”

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70. NABIHAH IQBAL – “Something More”

69. KEDR LIVANSKIY – “Your Name (имя твоё)”

68. MORGXN – “xx”

67. GRIZZLY BEAR – “Mourning Sound”

66. DANIEL CAESAR + KALI UCHIS – “Get You”

65. DILLON – “2.KIND”

64. COUCOU CHLOE + SEGA BODEGA – “Flip U”

63. THE TRP – “Soda”

62. JAY SOM – “The Bus Song”

61. GFOTY – “Tongue”

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60. SELENA GOMEZ -“Bad Liar”

59. ELA MINUS – “Juan Sant”

58. EMPRESS OF – “Go To Hell”

57. SHE Major – “Please Don’t”

56. VAGABON – “Cold Appartment”

55. NADINE – “Ultra Pink”

54. SONDER – “Feel”

53. RINA SAWAYAMA – “Alterlife”

52. SEGA BODEGA + SHYGIRL – “CC”

51. GOLDLINK + BRENT FAIYAZ – “Crew”

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50. CRATER – “Unearth”

49. QUAY DASH – “Decline Him”

48. YELLE – “Romeo”

47. GABRIEL GARZÓN-MONTANO – “Fruitflies”

46. WESLEE – “Bathwater”

45. FOREST SWORDS – “The Highest Flood”

44. KENDRICK LAMAR + ZACARI – “LOVE.”

43. ALEX CAMERON + ANGEL OLSEN – “Stranger’s Kiss”

42. SMERZ – “Oh My My”

41. SASSY 009 – “Are You Leaving”

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40. CHARLI XCX – “Roll With Me”

39. TESSA DIXSON – “Prayer”

38. TOMMY GENESIS – “Tommy”

37. SSION – “Comeback”

36. PIXX – “Romance”

35. DANNY L HARLE – “1UL”

34. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM – “american dream”

33. LANA DEL REY – “Love”

32. KING KRULE – “Dum Surfer”

31. SAMPHA – “(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano”

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30. MAKTHAVERSKAN – “Vienna”

29. CCFX – “The One To Wait”

28. KLLO – “Downfall”

27. KELLY LEE OWENS + JENNY HVAL – “Anxi.”

26. BLUE HAWAII – “No One Like You”

25. FEVER RAY – “Wanna Sip”

24. JULIEN BAKER – “Turn Out The Lights”

23. LIL PEEP + LIL TRACY – “witchblades”

22. FAKA – “Uyang’khumbula”

21. TR/ST – “Bicep”

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20. SARO – “Eyelids”

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19. BROCKHAMPTON – “Summer”

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18. TYLER, THE CREATOR + KALI UCHIS – “See You Again”

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17. O-SHiN – “A Revelation”

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16. ionnalee – “SAMARITAN”

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15. Vince Staples – “Crabs In A Bucket”

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14. WWWATER – “My Hands”

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13. Björk – “Blissing Me”

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12. Carly Rae Jepsen – “Cut To The Feeling”

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11. Big Thief – “Mythological Beauty”

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10. SZA – “Drew Barrymore”

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9. Frank Ocean – “Chanel”

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8. Wy – “Bathrooms”

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7. SOPHIE – “It’s Okay To Cry”

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6. Moses Sumney – “Doomed”

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5. Kelela – “Onanon”

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4. Arca – “Desafío”

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3. Lorde – “The Louvre”

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2. Perfume Genius – “Slip Away”

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1. Yaeji – “Raingurl”

Listen to the 100 tracks of 2017 according to the HighClouds‘ staff via Spotify, Youtube and Deezer.

10) Gold Connections – Gold Connections

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9) FAKA – Amaqhawe

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8) Sassy 009 – Do You Mind

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7) Danny L Harle – 1UL

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6) Half Waif – form/a

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5) The Blaze – Territory

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4) WWWATER – La Falaise

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3) RIVE – Vermillon

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2) Sonder – Into

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1) Yaeji – EP1 and EP2

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A relatively new face on the European electronic scene, Charlotte Adigéry first rose to fame a year ago after being featured in a track from Belgian giants Soulwax, who also produced her recently released debut EP 1,681 / Senegal Seduction. Only a few months out from that project, Adigéry already seems willing to take an entirely new approach. Unlike 1,681 / Senegal Seduction, Adigéry‘s first release as WWWater is strictly a solo affair, as well as a decidedly adventurous one. Through these five tracks, she explores the boundaries of contemporary R&B, while also giving us a taste of her wide musical palette. La Falaise EP is reverential rather than referential – paying equal tribute to the likes of FKA twigs, SZA, and Kelela, while still maintaining a strong identity and avoiding pastiche or straight-up mimicry.

The songs in this EP range from experimental ambient music (“Presence”) to a more standard R&B sound. While something like the groovy “Pink Letters” sees Adigéry venturing into chart pop territory, it’s when she’s at her most experimental and trippy that WWWater is at its best. The connection with Soulwax comes clearly into focus after hearing songs like “My Hands” or “WWWater” in which she employs relatively austere instrumentation and uses repetition and loops of her own voice as vehicles for letting her melodies flourish. These two songs would definitely feel at home on some sort of As Heard on Radio Soulwax Pt. 2-like mix, but they also stand on their own as modern electronic songs that gracefully fluctuate without being confined to a stiff structure. They’re absolute highlights in La Falaise, and one can only wonder what may have happened had she stayed in that lane for the whole record.

Even though La Falaise EP is comprised of only five tracks, it’s firm evidence that WWWater‘s music can’t confined to a single genre or mood. It’s far from being a disjointed mess, but it definitely feels more like five different testimonies of who WWWater is as a musician than a fully articulate artistic statement. Take “Presence”, the spoken-word prelude that starts off the project. While it could have served as a perfect introduction to a longer, more unified word – similar to how the spoken-word bits on Blonde help flesh out the album’s narrative arc – on “La Falaise”, it just feels overindulgent and slightly out of place as an introduction to themes that never get fully explored.

All in all, La Falaise EP is more promising than it is essential. A perfectly fine summary for a debut release – but it can feel like a wasted opportunity at times. At her best, WWWater is really, really good. There are sparks of greatness in this project, but one can’t help but feel that her songs would work better in a full-length album than in a short EP. That being said, “WWWater” and “My Hands” are two of the most impressive songs released this year, and the whole project remains a captivating listen. Hopefully, it will prove to be the prelude to a remarkable and intriguing career.

In the video, directed by her boyfriend, the Belgian-based artist shows those trivial moments of our lives that we filmed with our phones and then forget about it. The bright and sweet symbolism of the color pink is used to overcome those dark moments when everything seems to fall apart. The track, as her debut, is incredibly minimal, where different sounds mingle to create a magical darkness overshadowed by the luminous vocals of WWWater.

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Her much awaited debut EP will be released during September of this year, and you can find her touring in the next few weeks. You can follow her over Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter and listen to the audio below.

Every week, Free scours through hundreds of SoundCloud tracks to find the best new gems by artists that are flying under the radar.

Each week our Brussels-based fellow overwhelms you with a variety of songs that make your head go nuts. This week, he offers us a 100% Belgian playlist! Here are a few of his favorites:

Tundra – My Love:

Driving through vibrant cities or beautiful landscapes is one of my favourite things in the world to do, especially when the accompanied soundtrack is kind of hypnotical. Try playing M83’s music while driving through a tunnel for example. Wouldn’t it be the best if a band/artist’s pseudonym was just “Tunnel” or “Savanna” or … Ok, no it’d be boring but with Tundra’s music I can see myself driving through a tundra landscape endlessly.

NKISI – Welcome To The Jungle:

Nkisi is one of the best kept secrets of Belgian’s music scene. Though she’s renowned worldwide in the experimental electronic scene as one of the co-founders of NON WORLDWIDE, together with Chino Amobi and Angel-Ho, in Belgium itself she’s practically unknown. Let’s change that Belgium! As she’s one of the few people who can really change and reinvent the Belgian music scene.

doro – Evasion:

Music wise – and non music wise, watching you ex-mayor Yvan Mayeur – there’s so much going on in Brussels. The hiphop scene on the one hand is better and bigger than ever with artists like Zwangere Guy and Stikstof. Acts like Kassett, Samuelspaniel and doro on the other hand are the new revelations in Brussels’ progressive electronic scene, internationally guided by Mechatok, Dinamarca, Y1640 and so many other interesting new artists.

Another week of fresh tracks by breaking artists around the world — brought to you by FREE. Check the full playlist below!

Check on Free‘s playlist every Thursday on HighClouds and follow our curator on Soundcloud.