New Music: Fugue State – So What Is There?

Effervescent and experimental Fugue State’s So What Is There? upends the Western rock narrative, finding solace in sound and silence.

More of a movement or soundscape than a song, it encapsulates much of what makes the new Fugue State album, After Nothing Comes, its own form of cinema. The piece doesn’t rely on a silver screen; the human voice and the urban landscape provide the medium by which Fugue State – a musical project led by composer and producer Dan Langa – follows recent single Dark into a world of collages and collaborations.

Fugue State are joined on the track by Javanese singer, composer, and educator Peni Candra Rini, who appears throughout the album. Langa reveals about the first recording sessions for the album, which included Rini: “There was a powerful, cathartic energy that came through in the performance. That session…ultimately shaped the sequencing of the record; her presence offers potent moments of respite within an often dense, maximalist soundworld.”

After Nothing Comes is out on the 22nd of May via Switch Hit Records and is up for pre-order in digital and cassette formats on Bandcamp. Fugue State will perform an album release show at Ki Smith Gallery in New York City on the 30th of May – you can find ticket information here.