NENE H Vinilo y CD

Review: Istanbul born, Berlin and Copenhagen based artist Nene H (real name Beste Aydin) had amassed a hardcore following for her slew of early releases. She then finally came good on all her promise with a debut album that blended bass, techno and plenty of her own cultural heritage. Ali arrived in 2021 but only now lands on wax via Incienso. It's an album that processes personal grief and mourning with melancholic melodies, moody grooves and introspective soundscapes that allow for deep thought processing. At times psyched out, at others manic, and always alluring, it's a real triumph.

Review: Nene H pays her respects to three cities that have shaped and inspired her with three very different tracks. 'Ring the Siran' salutes Istanbul with a salvo of hard-edged minimal firepower and filtered voices opening and closing across it. 'Fukken Lie' features spoken words by Nik Mantilla about the Berlin scene in which she operates, again hard but with a more relaxed, spacious vibe. 'Hold Ud, Skat!' pays homage to the Copenhagen scene - "the city that adopted the lost child in Nene H and inspired her" - with an irresistibly rubbery bassline and static techno stabs. Who says the harder end of techno needs to be grim? This is quite the opposite - tough but lithe and very, very lively.