Arca Shares New Music on XXXXX Livestream “Sueño” and “Fxck”

Yesterday, Arca released two songs from her two-hour livestream transmission that gave fans a first glimpse in the world of her upcoming album XXXXX out on July 31st. In this livestream new song “Sueño” and “Fxck” were performed. “Sueño” represents transcendent image of sacrifice and rebirth, while “Fxck” explores organic trauma and raw catharsis.

The visuals for “Sueño” represent the image of sacrifice and rebirth by striking spiritual ascension by the singer screaming by having red lighting surround her, doing dance moves on the floor, having red paint around her legs and body as well as the fluorescent lighting above her. The instruments that were used include acoustic, fingerstyle and 7 string guitars giving the song a powerful melancholy feeling while also being ominous at the same time. The songs sound is very heavy metal and techno like which gives listeners the depiction of sacifice by the lyrics being spoken in loud yells throughout the song. The song also represents rebirth by the lyrics saying “up here” that send a message to listeners that second chances can be given when proven ready.

The visuals for “Fxck” represent trauma and raw catharsis by the singer violently smeared paint and blood across a canvas, shedding her cyborg armor to create a visceral canvas. Further connecting to catharsis by Arca expressing her hidden emotions in a very explosive way, while also connecting to trauma by being haunted from past experiences creating feelings of anger and restlessness from the singer. The synthesizers, glitch elements/electronic percussion, layered textures, effect processing and manipulated audio give the song a techno club feel that gets more ominous as the song goes along.

For XXXXX the music will be imagery inhabiting “a space between worlds where transformation is both terrifying and liberatory. Suspended between posthuman augmentation and raw emotion, XXXXX exposes the mainframe. It is a record born from uncertainty, contradiction, instinct, and surrender—a becoming-machine that continues Arca’s lifelong project of redefining what it means to be human both in, and against, the machine” (Arca’s Album Press Release).

Photo Credit: Nicole Ditt