abysmo: Lauren Duffus + Sasha Smirnova
By Kit Macdonald
Lauren Duffus is a powerhouse of a vocalist and producer who came to prominence after tracks she had released on Soundcloud got her noticed by London's similarly powerhouse-y online radio station NTS, who gave her a spot on their artist development programme. Since this life-changing development in 2020 she has been able to devote a lot more time to making music, with increasingly excellent results as Duffus explores the spaces between ambient, club, and experimental R&B and finds nocturnal, cinematic soundscapes there.
Her hypnotic productions, which blend glitchy synths with emotive keys and ethereal vocals, have earned her high-profile bookings from the likes of Mutek, Mucho Flow and Unsound in the past couple of years. Support comes from sound and visual artist Sasha Smirnova, who will present a live set of emotionally resonant compositions created using piano and processed vocals intertwined with analogue and digital textures.