- More than a decade in the making, Clara La San’s debut album is an intimate portrait of a singular rising R&B star.
- If you, like me, spent your formative years in the ’10s searching for Ciara’s flips and getting into heated online arguments with characters named FutureGarageDisciple420 or 140FunkyBadBoi, then the name Clara La San should hold a special place in your heart. She emerged shortly after the post-dubstep bubble, first with an otherworldly slice of minimalist R&B and then with “pink 22,” a collaboration with Scratcha DVA. Loaded with bubbling synths and wobbly percussion, “Pink 22” was the perfect bed for her smoky vocals (a remix even appeared on Burial and Kode9 Vivid fabric 100). A year later, she appeared on the MssngNo show. phones PE, which balanced icy grime riddims and nostalgic R&B yearning, as if all those disembodied, tape-delayed vocal samples had come to life. In 2017, after releasing a follow-up mixtape, good duel (which has since disappeared from streaming services), La San returned to the Internet ether. His mystique, however, has not faded. Artists of Bryson Tiller to Biceps have recruited La San for a vocal position. But the idea of a full La San album has always been a fantasy, sort of like finally getting a full Jai Paul album. But as Coachella punters can attest, dreams can come true. Almost a decade after the emergence of La San, he now releases his debut LP, Made mistakes, an immersive and intricate take on bedroom R&B. The album is built around a lush array of early 2000s R&B and little nods to the softer sides of the UK hardcore continuum. La San captures that moment in musical culture when R&B and bass merged in both the underground and the mainstream. If you take away the lyrics of “Solo,” it’s easy to imagine it as a LuckyMe release, with its aquatic melody and strong beat. On “Talking to You,” it’s like stumbling onto The Weeknd’s theme. trilogy for the first time. His breathy vocals over the haunted chords sound like they’re coming from a party you’re not cool enough to know exists. But Made mistakes transcends nostalgia. The sound design of “Runnin” references contemporary British techno with its screeching neon synths and the slivers of Reese’s bass that screech like alien chatter beneath “Upset With You.” Her lyrics are also very contemporary. The chorus of “All I Wanna Do” could be adopted as a traditional wife mantra (“All I want to do / Is settle down with you”), but she makes it menacing and violent with gurgling subs and slimy snares. When she sings, “If I have to leave / I’ll be there for you / There will be sunshine / It’s true,” on “Far Away,” it’s hard to believe thanks to the claustrophobic chords and synths that spin like they’re playing backwards. Both TikTok and the charts have been flooded with producers playing with a similar palette.Made mistakes It stands out for its clearly DIY aesthetic. La San produced this album herself and released it on her own label. Her melodies are tamer than Erika de Casier’s seductive ones. R&B meets the club songs, and Made mistakes It’s almost lo-fi compared to the layers of production of Kelela’s most dramatic moments. Raven. This creates an intimacy throughout the record, from the small piano melody of “Made Me Feel” to the vibrant flute-like synths of “Don’t You Know.” At times, it feels like you really have to lean in to hear every little detail that happens on the record. Both in form and content, Made mistakes is an intimate portrait of the world of La San. Lyrically, each track is a reflection on love, lust, and what it feels like to be dumped (“This is the last time I’ll text you,” she half-raps on “Upset With You”). However, musically it is also soft, almost soft. The drums on some tracks are agile and even when the bass lines run through the record, it sounds as if La San is inviting you to slow down and listen closely to catch all the intricacies that shine throughout the tracks. Written in her bedroom, this is a record made for all of our bedrooms, when everyone else is asleep but still in need of some human connection.
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Songs list
- 01. Another night 02. Don’t worry about it 03. Things you didn’t know 04. Running 05. Talking to you 06. Everything I want to do 07. Too far away 08. Annoyed with you 09. Alone 10. He forced me to feel
Clara La San – Comtí Errores · Album review ⟋ RA
