Erika de Casier - Essentials

the whole Erika de Casier album is really lovely, my favourite is "Space"

― ufo, Saturday, 27 July 2019 06:37

'What U Wanna Do?' -> 'Rainy' -> 'Space' is a great run.

Anyway, this album is ideal ILM fodder (and I mean that in a good way).

― pomenitul, Saturday, 3 August 2019 13:50

maybe make a thread for it? i really love it. it's drawing so heavily on 90s r&b but the production feels much more modern with how much space there is and every individual sound is so good

― ufo, Saturday, 3 August 2019 14:35

I considered making a thread for it too!

― boxedjoy, Saturday, 3 August 2019 19:29

Here is that thread.

Luxuriant, sumptuous r&b. I've seen a few write-ups point to a G-funk influence but to me the more obvious reference point is the stuttering funk of millenial r&b - "Bills Bills Bills" and "No Scrubs" - lots of harpsichord melodies and stop-start percussion. The vibe is somewhere between Sade in 1992 and Janet in 1997 - I'd also say "intimate" except the album does it for me, twice, in two different versions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDM73CL8zXs

The production comes from Casier herself and DJ Central, and there's definitely a textural influence from deep house. Casier's voice is soft and tender, it makes me think of #cassiefanclub in its unshowy plainness. I can imagine comparisons to Jessy Lanza and Kelela but this is much more of a purist's interpretation of r&b.

the beats make me think of Whitney's "My Love is Your Love", which I love. The vocal, bizarrely perhaps, reminds me of The Digable Planets.

I totally love this. It’s like the sensuous yin to Abra’s yang

Also I was NOT prepared for the 1994 Neil Trix jungle realness of the club mix of “Intimate”!!!

Seriously this remix is one of the absolute best things I've heard this year. It has me flashing on Janet's "Empty".

Generally speaking the album is so lovely. I've often thought about how even before "One In A Million" came out some of the more sensuous, sumptuous R&B arrangements were almost there, stuff like TLC's "Diggin' On You" is the softest breath away from it. And I feel like this album really leans into that particular crossover point, everything is simultaneously involving and relaxing, seductive yet murderous.

absolutely one of my favourites of the year. i agree with boxedjoy that turn-of-the-millennium r&b is the main reference point but i hear g-funk pretty prominently too. it has a much more luxurious and space-filled sound compared to most of the turn-of-the-millenium stuff (which has that very dry and compressed sound) though and this + the deep house textures really elevates it above the level of pastiche

oh this is really fantastic

The lower-key, trip-hop-ish numbers are closest to my heart, obv.

Also

Abra

'Fruit' is amazing. I'll have to check out the rest.

do my thing deserves to be massive

nice, sensuous late night music.

Yes!! I’ve been really enjoying this record

count me in on this one as well. The most Janety thing I've heard since Take Me Apart I guess.

I hear INOJ and Samantha Mumba in her voice and in the music

Another reference point that occurred to me (re the music) was the uptempo stretches of ‘Embrya’ - that sense of modern R&B as if heard (or perhaps performed) from underwater.

kinda wish there was a club mix for every track on the album since "intimate (club mix)" is so good

album is a fucking miracle

Really bugs the shit out of me that this is not available on CD. Some of us still own stereos . . .

I like this a lot. It reminds me a little of Cassie but I find the production a bit too sterile/ibiza-wine-bar-background-music to my taste to really be great.

whut

you need a clean environment for intimacy

kinda wish there was a club mix for every track on the album since "intimate (club mix)" is so good

― ufo, Friday, August 23, 2019 1:59 PM (five days ago) bookmarkflaglink

^^^^ but also kinda wish the genre comprising this and dawn richard's "black lipstick" was in fact a genre with, like, other songs in it.

There isn’t a single bad song on this. An album that really lives up to its name.

yeah when the worst* songs on here are like "good time" and "story of my life" that's a great problem to have

*worst only in the sense of being a step below the really amazing songs like "intimate" and "space"

Hmm I put good time in my top picks from the album — great concept

Yeah it’s actually great? It’s just that sometimes i’m thrown by the (deliberately) laziness of “I had a rillyrillyrillyrilly good time” (and then other times I love it). Which is my point about the general greatness of the album I guess.

yeah i guess it just seems cute & unforced for that reason ... its like the thing you say when you want to say more but are afraid of bungling the articulation so your vocabulary regresses

Just discovered that Erika was (is?) part of an alt-R&B duo called Saint Cava:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnzO1Onse2A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1LHBCmCNBA

iirc it's a was, they broke up then she teamed up with dj sports for a single a few years ago which lead to the album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luTGJMSmLxg

i forgot to post this but this was the single (by dj central, her main collaborator on essentials, though dj sports did do a remix like he did for "intimate" and he also co-produced some of the album iirc?)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCjBW3b_mqk

new remix of "little bit" by erika & el-trick (dj central)

My favourite discovery from the 2019 EOY nominations. Has anyone seen her live? Just got tickets for the London show next month.

when she whispers her voice somehow reminds me of stina nordenstam. very girlish and immediate. which is a good thing obviously.

this album is really pretty much perfect at what it does

Erika did a remix of Dua Lipa's "Physical" and bodied the vocal with her prod.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyfA44cXwz0

this album is incredible

https://www.thefader.com/2020/05/21/erika-de-casier-interview-essentials-album

https://youtu.be/MWofrpSCekY?t=1678

gorgeous unreleased song here

whole set is lovely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK8RilMVd9U

good new track & she's signed to 4AD

This is just lovely.

yes, extremely nice. good for her!

cosign

Early highlight of 2021:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6mgqSP4pKU

Hi Mount - U N Me

Features Erika on vocals. She also sings on the A-side (SPCE - lightness).

this is incredible

that gasp at 1.25 > all other sounds ever

"no butterflies no nothing" was robbed in the tracks poll

The EP also features another track with vocals from Erika. SPCE - Lightness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saRbqHE44iQ

Doh, just re-read your post above where you say the same thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAM5lyb1UQo

incredible

Love this. Will it get an official release?

very enjoyable

I believe that is an official link? it's also on Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/track/4v7SAKFEqPyuYTy9gQRnHP?si=1a312715fdaf4219

On first listen I was a bit underwhelmed, but now I’ve had a chance to listen more it‘s really revealed itself, what a great version.

she has a new writing credit here also
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArmDp-zijuc

https://www.gq.com/story/newjeans-get-up-songwriter-erika-de-casier-interview

good interview about her work for newjeans

it mentions that her new album is finished & coming soon!

great interview. Love that bit about newjeans’ management liking the fact that she didn’t listen to kpop

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/09/1197958418/2024-preview-the-most-anticipated-releases-of-the-year

new song "lucky" premiered here at 48:30 except they talk over most of it, but the part they don't talk over sounds absolutely fantastic. they also reveal the new album is titled still

Lucky is amazing. Doesn't it have a pretty prominent sample or something? I think I recognize something.

Oh, a new album is coming, and the single is out now! https://pitchfork.com/news/erika-de-casier-announces-new-album-still-shares-video-for-new-song-lucky-watch

Awesome!

sounds great

judging from the credits it should be a Rodney Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels sample, must be the piano? something sounds familiar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZOKYZtERFQ

yeah the full "lucky" is wonderful, i'm delighted she's going full "empty"

the piano is sampled from linda karaly's "can't let go"

Love this so much - I've wanted her to make songs like this ever since the club mix of "Intimate".

yeah, it's exactly what i've wanted more of from her. already a soty contender

the drums on this are soooooo good

Lucky is pretty nice.
The descending piano melody reminiscent of Christopher Cross "Sailin".
Pre-chorus has "You Gotta Be" vibes.
Verse melody at 29-33 seconds is 100% from some rnb or pop tune that I'm going crazy trying to remember. Anybody?

Song of the year

I think it might actually be a “sailin’” sample

Song reminds me to so many other things in certain points, but it’s perfect on its own. Really excited about the full album.

Wouldn't mind a copy of just the rhythm track on this thing. Real good fun.

Like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN5o70QddoE

That's nice, but was thinking literally just beats (maybe bass). The skittering action and 16th notes make me real happy.

the sample is 100% "can't let go", the writers are credited and everything

i think this is the best r & breakbeats song i have ever heard

love this, so gorgeous and deceptively effortless

being an outlier here but I think this is a bit underwhelming

Yeah she sounds a little buried in the fog of the sample to me and this style is not new. Thinking of Cuando Fue that I have relistened to a lot lately.

i think this is a great record, i also wish it was mixed differently to give her vocals the effect of levitating above the beat instead of being engulfed by it. the one main difference i would draw between this & something like "empty"

Ok I just heard 'Lucky' on a playlist having not heard or registered her name before, and I had to look and see if it was newjeans. So I'm glad to learn there's a connection.

new album sounds very good on first listen but "lucky" is the clear standout

after a few more listens i feel a bit underwhelmed, "lucky" is incredible but totally overshadows the rest of the album which is low key even by her standards and the songs are a little weaker and less interesting than usual too

i enjoyed "ice", but mostly because it's well-executed pastiche of a rap/r&b duet from 20 years ago

hmm it's growing on me!

whoa, I just learned about the newjeans connection. makes a lot of sense.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJWdJ99squt/

surprise new album!

it's quite good but there's nothing as strong as "lucky" on it

yeah i agree. it is definitely on the wispy side but sets a great mood

agreed, sounds great but very vibey

album sounds like she heard "headphones on" and was like "wait!"

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/09/danish-copenhagen-conservatory-music

more like addison rae heard ‘essentials’ xp

I want to love this but it’s so vaporous that it doesn’t really grab me. She’s better when the production challenges her voice more

the vibes are immaculate, but i do i wish there was a little more to this and she's proven she's capable of more than just immaculate vibes before. it's all good but none of it's her best

It's funny that everyone is complaining about this album. Because this is the first one that's really clicked for me? What I like about it is what everyone else is criticising - I love how wispy, hazy, atmospheric, vibes-y it is. The sound design really thrills me. There's one track where I swear she uses the whinny of a horse to do that typical 'hip-hop siren sample' thing.

yeah that's on "delusional," which has emerged as my favorite by a significant margin

Finally listening to this. The sound design is entrancing. I like the minimal approach. Nice trip hop touches. Totally works for me - I don't mind the limitations, elements just work together.

Tempted to say it's her best since Essentials

The opener, Seasons / You Got It, Delusional, The Garden / Two Thieves, the closer are all amazing

Add December to that previous list, and also You Can't Always since I hadn't mentioned it. I have listened to little else in the past days, always on headphones, and I'm with Etherwave, it's her best incarnation so far. Enveloping, evanescent, alluring. Each song carries some addictive hook or detail - bass/claps (Miss), harp and overdubbed vocals and pitch changes (Seasons), theremin and hip hop rhythm (You got it), Sade-like flute (December), bass, call and response, chorus (Delusional), backing vocals (Moan), bass again and the way it slows to a stop (Two Friends), drums, piano, vocals (Lifetime). Songs are relatively short but the transitions within are flawless, jewel-like. She sounds in love. Her voice has gained so much confidence since the early days, and there are snippets of lyrics that stay with me: like a movie in slow motion, got a licence to kill our every mood. Many more people need to listen. Ivy maybe ?