Half-Norwegian, half-Mexican musician Carmen Villain is playing the i-D presents stage at Blaa during Oslo’s by:Larm festival next week. We’ll be rocking up to her hometown to take over the riverside venue on Thursday 1 March and are very excited to have the talented Smalltown Supersound-signed artist on our line-up alongside Courtesy and Yves Tumor.
For those who don’t follow Scandinavian music industry news, Carmen’s 2017 album Infinite Avenue just got nominated for a Norwegian Grammy — no big deal then. Full of atmospheric music built up from field recordings, pianos, guitars, drums and synths, she splices genres like she was born to do it and called on guest vocalist Jenny Hval for our personal album highlight, Borders.
It’s the separately released duo of remixes that followed (one by Jenny Hval and Klara Lewis, another by Biosphere) that is closer to the mix Carmen has made for us today. Just as masterfully mashed up as own music, she mixes tracks from weirdo Queens producer DJ Python with ambient electronic stalwart Erik Wøllo and Yves Tumor’s dark and beautiful creations. “I guess it’s just a mix of music that I love and was feeling at the time of putting this mix together,” she told us over email this morning. We guess you’re going to like it.