''Building Something Beautiful for Me'' is the fourth album by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based electronic musician

Loraine James Loraine James (born 18 December 1995), also known as Whatever the Weather, is a British electronic music producer and musician. Early life Loraine James was raised in an Alma Estate tower block in Enfield, North London. Her interest in music be ...

, released on 7 October 2022 through

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. It was conceived as an homage to the works of composer

Julius Eastman Julius Eastman (October 27, 1940 – May 28, 1990) was an American composer. He was among the first composers to combine the processes of some minimalist music with other methods of extending and modifying his music as in some experimental music. ...

and received acclaim from critics.

Background

The album is both an homage and response to the work of composer

, with the parenthetical subtitles of the songs referencing various works by Eastman, namely "Stay on It", "Crazy Nigger", "Femenine" and "The Holy Presence of Joan d'Arc".

Critical reception

''Building Something Beautiful for Me'' received a score of 78 out of 100 on review aggregator

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

based on seven critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. ''

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'' wrote that "James's reputation as one of electronic music's most daring, inquisitive artists grows record by record", and ''

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'' opined that it is "unmistakeably a Loraine James record – the synths are capacious and the beats are intricately counterintuitive – but Eastman's work has clearly been generative". '' Uncut'' stated that James's "light, airy palette, punctuated by arresting stabs and scattershot rhythm, is informed by vintage

Squarepusher Thomas Russell Jenkinson (born 17 January 1975), known professionally as Squarepusher, is an English electronic musician, record producer, bassist, multi-instrumentalist and DJ. His music spans several genres including drum and bass, IDM, a ...

and Plaid – but Eastman's pioneering work as a black, gay musician operating in challenging times clearly resonates with James". Reviewing the album for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', Claire Sawers described ''Building Something Beautiful for Me'' as an "at times stunning electronic album that continues astman'sradical, minimal legacy, while Anglifying some of his messages" as it is "a gentler listen by comparison" although "with some anger still there". '' Clash''s Lee Wakefield remarked that it "finds Loraine innovating once again, inspired by the composer Julius Eastman and his tragic passing", elaborating that "out of devastation, Loraine has pieced together an album to cherish". Joe Creely of '' The Skinny'' wrote that the album "fares far better the further it strays from replicating Eastman's work", concluding that it "feels like something of a minor work in James's already imposing output, but remains a pointer to both her and Eastman's sparkling talents". ''

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''s Jayson Greene felt that James "appears more interested in weightless washes of tone, often drifting and beat-free, which is a curious approach for Eastman's work, particularly because it fails to illuminate much about what James found in it".

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Loraine James 2022 albums Albums produced by Loraine James Loraine James albums