“Like a snail on a razor blade.” That is how a friend of Liesa Van der Aa describes her new album ‘Caramel’ – as a softness that wraps around sharp edges but never gets cut. A striking image, for with ‘Caramel’, Liesa Van der Aa presents her most personal work to date.
The album echoes the urge for meaning, but also doubt. Van der Aa’s voice whispers: Where do I belong? And how do you actually do that, being together? Balancing between me and you, between self and other, between inner world and outer world? These are universal questions, and Van der Aa illuminates them from every angle. Critical, yet interwoven with tenderness and hope.
Musically, ‘Caramel’ still moves within the same jazzy universe as her previous album ‘Easy Alice’, and yet it is completely different. You hear echoes of Laurie Anderson, interwoven with the early classics of James Blake and snippets of Billie Eilish and FKA Twigs. Electronics, contemporary classical, baroque, jazz, and hip-hop: ‘Caramel’ wears all these coats at once, nonchalantly layered over one another. And on top of that, the masks drop more than ever before: “I wanted to make a record that feels like you hear someone thinking out loud. Like you are sitting on the edge of someone’s consciousness, without everything having been spoken aloud yet.”
For ‘Caramel’, Van der Aa collaborates once again with wonder pianist Niels Broos, known for his work with Jameszoo, Jamie Peet, and Rol Rol Rol. Drummer James Williams (Leon Bridges) provides unforgettable, soulful parts. And when Dries Laheye (STUFF.) brings out his melodic magic, silence falls naturally. Two distinctive voices also leave their mark on the production: Anja Ngozi, a producer from London with credits including Tirzah and Speakers Corner Quartet, and Shungu, the Brussels-based producer with a penchant for layered, poetic beats.
Together, they make ‘Caramel’ an album for those who do not confuse softness with weakness. For those who want to be moved, without explanation. It is an invitation to get closer - right to the razor's edge.
