Sienná - Essence

Sienná
Essence

“Deep moodyblue electro experiences” are the game of Sienná, according to the artist herself. Truth is, Essence, her newest release, doesn’t really seem to encompass any of that completely, though gives the listener a unique style and approach nonetheless.

It’s probably to do with her background; at least, that’s what pretty much every source makes it out to be, in a pseudo Daily Mail-esque fashion, when you read about her online. Sienná is a Norway-based artist and composer from Kyoto, Japan, who uses her vocal and keyboard talents to craft some of the most unique music she can. Unique it most certainly is, despite the seemingly inaccurate self-diagnosis that it’s moody or blue.

What you essentially get is a couple of songs which really seem to play up to her Japanese background, notably ‘Zen’ (rather unsurprisingly) which embraces a mandolin and a fast WipEout 2097-style drum beat to pick up the pace. ‘Yugen-Mugen’ uses digital synth undertones to add to a lilting beat, pushing Vangelis-inspired auras of sound over the top, which are soothing enough though don’t really add any huge impact to a song that’s already a little too relaxed to really get into.

Some tracks seem to really push the house side of things, and it’s perhaps here where Sienná is at her strongest. ‘Precious!’ nails the genre, though you tend to put it to the back of your mind on the first listen as it’s the opening track and you expect much better to follow; it turns out that it remains the most memorable.

Some of it is a little too strange or far removed from the context of the album – never mind genre – to class as music. ‘Now Counting Backwards’ is a prime example, sitting somewhere between the opulent beats of Kippi Kaninus on the excellent Happens Secretly and the more annoying releases of Kraftwerk – the latter tracks of Autobahn come to mind. It seems superfluous, ultimately, if only because it’s just too hard to bond with.

Others just don’t leave a lasting impression at all. Some start strong, such as ‘The Moon’, but fall away despite their best efforts to lift the tone and tempo late in the tune after a Moon Safari-esque sleepwalking-into-beauty intro.

‘Heaven’s River’ also suffers; its dark, broody bassline, atmospheric undertone and decent vocal work (reminiscent of the chilling ‘Song to the Siren’ by The Chemical Brothers) just isn’t engaging as it could be.

I don’t really know whether or not it’s harsh to say this about her, but Sienná’s music in Essence strikes me as something that’ll only gain fame through its probable use on TV idents and more high-concept, high-brow adverts – perhaps for expensive alcohol that is advertised in the least-straightforward of ways, through moods and the like.

If anything, this gives the girl credit for her ability to set a tone of sorts, though there’s an undercurrent of self-awareness that both adverts of that ilk, and music like this, exude; it just doesn’t sit as comfortably as it could. Then again, Air’s ‘Alpha Beta Gaga’ and Goldfrapp’s ‘Lovely Head’ were used by TV execs and that propelled them, so there’s every possibility Sienná will be big… so long as the industry finds her first.

All-in-all, it’s definitely worth a try for people who like house music who are a little more intelligent than the stereotypical lover of said art, as it takes a little bit of patience and more selective hearing, as some of the tunes fall by the wayside almost entirely.

Others who enjoy Air, The Chemical Brothers’ earlier outings, the Future Sound of London or elements of Icelandic music such as that from Kippi, Bjork or Sigur Ros (particularly Riceboy Sleeps), will likely be able to get something out of this, even if it’s just an ambient passover of sorts.

With music like this, it’s easy to expect a lot and see them fall short. With a more open mind for the genre, some people could get a lot from this.

Essence is available now on Abon Records.

By Matt Gardner