Discover Dessa Like Never Before In New Album ‘Chime’

After three solo albums and two EPs, rapper-singer/songwriter Dessa still manages to surprise her audience with unraveled facets of her life.

Dessa has an unconditional easy way with words, a remarkable skill we can enjoy through years of published work in the shape of essays, poems and well, songs. One of the keys to the making of good music is finding the perfect combination between good songwriting and interpretation - a key Dessa has found and developed over time, which is more than obvious in her last album to date, 'Chime'.

From a general point of view, 'Chime' is a very personal and sensitive album. Dessa has chosen here to put forward singing tunes rather than rapping ones, making ‘5 out of 6’, ‘Fire Drills’ and ‘Shrimp’ stand out of the project. With a punchy, intense and strong instrumental, ‘5 out of 6’ completely contrasts with the rest of the album. Three notes played on repeat on synth, minor mode: a typical rap song beginning progressively sliding into a rather rock chorus, recalling of early 2000s Black Eyed Peas’ work – particularly Elephunk track ‘Anxiety’ ‘s structure. And while ‘oldies’ vibes can be felt through this song, ‘Fire Drills’ is, on the other hand, a compilation of modern musical trends. As told in an interview she did for Noise Trade, Dessa initially recorded herself rapping over traditional music played by a local musician on her phone in a Turkish restaurant. Fire Drills is a mastered mixture of genres, a certainly well-known process of contemporary music, but here making the track stand out. As a matter of fact, it’s her writing skills that enables her to make this process her own.

A feature that can be also heard in third noticeable track ‘Shrimp’ – where Dessa shows another side of her musicality, letting her ‘goofy’ side take the lead and conveying her worries on matters that she holds close to her heart with humor. A technique so unique that it has not found its match yet on the music market.

These tracks, while very different from the rest of the album, actually complete it in a way: as matter of fact, the leitmotiv of the project is the writing of introspective ballads on a more pop-ish musical background, explicitly showing Dessa’s sensitivity and her will to less showcase and express herself more.

It is clear that the album embodies Dessa’s complexity: the mixture of genres stands for Dessa’s miscellaneous skills, from writer to performer.

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