There is music that jostles for position, fills the room, distracts. But then there are also songs that are hardly discernible, rippling along, preferring to be played in department stores and lifts. Stella’s debut EP »Détends-toi« falls neither into one category nor the other: dancing yes, freaking out no. The Berliner by choice has recorded six tracks, some of which can be assigned to the genre Zouk, a music and dance style that originated in the French overseas territories in the early eighties. Musicians like Kassav’ started out with percussion, brass and a tempo of between 120 and 140 beats per minute. Later, synth sounds typical of the time were added. Stella gives herself over to this style and mixes it with boogie and 80s pop. The result sounds as if »Miami Vice« got lost in the Caribbean. The arrangements take their time. Stella’s soft voice repeatedly recedes into the background for instrumental passages. Nasal guitar solos, humming funk basses and two-bar melodies from the synthesiser – the six pieces could also be 40 years old and now newly released. »Détends-toi« can be translated as »relax«. That’s right. The Parisian-born singer delivers acoustic pearls for a stylish nightcap after a hot summer day.
Détends-Toi
