sm^sher (Voka Gentle’s Imogen Mason) | New Single ‘the reaction’ | Scrawl Ltd | Album Launch
sm^sher Shares New Single ‘the reaction’ and Announces Album Launch Show
Debut Album pit of mine is Due Out Nov 15th via Scrawl World Ltd
Experimentalist Imogen Mason, also known as sm^sher and a member of the avant-pop trio Voka Gentle, reveals ‘the reaction,’ the second single from her forthcoming debut solo album pit of mine, scheduled for release on November 15th via Scrawl World Ltd. Alongside this single release, Mason announces her album launch show, which will take place on November 19th at Next Door Records in Stoke Newington, celebrating both the album and Scrawl World Ltd's first anniversary.
sm^sher’s lead single ‘beggars belief’ was celebrated by the likes of Stereogum and BBC Radio 6. Now she returns with new single ‘the reaction’, described by Mason as "brash, relentless, and destructive," capturing the essence of "trying to disrupt your reality and change your circumstances in the most dramatic way you can." The track features a dynamic blend of punchy, modular textures, techno-inspired drums, and chopped-up recordings of a large metal pipe being struck with rocks. It culminates with a manipulated explosion sample created using the Roland SP-404, paired with a sped-up vocal recorded from the radio of someone shouting. As Mason puts it, "I love how bombastic this song is—at points comical—yet lyrically intense and raw."
Inspired by the likes of Mira Calix, Arthur Russell and Aldous Harding, as well as noisy birds, chalk pastel drawings, her footsteps on varied terrains, and her bandmates, pit of mine features songs lending themselves to pop structures with catchy melodies, while also exploring expansive experimental textures and soundscapes. Blending electronic beats with sampled found sounds and acoustic instruments such as piano, violin, and acoustic guitar, pit of mine is moody, introspective, and collaged, yet also at times strident, brash and confrontational.
Birthed in the high desert of Taos, New Mexico, the forthcoming sm^sher album was pieced together during a creative residency Mason undertook in 2023. The artist and producer found herself surrounded by other creative minds on the residency from all disciplines and walks of life, living in community, with people such as celebrated filmmaker Tirtza Even and author Andrea Scrima as well as many others. She became increasingly inspired by the older residents in their 50s and 60s: their passionate approach to their work, their risk taking, their youthful energy and maverick lifestyles “I was able to give myself permission to embrace my age and relax for the first time in ages, to play, rest and start from the beginning again”
Before starting sm^sher, Mason found herself caring for a loved one battling addiction, dedicating herself to their recovery. Her forthcoming album delves into the emotional turmoil of losing her sense of self while caring for another and the struggle to reclaim it. “I didn’t comprehend it fully at the time, but the desire to support them took over my life,” Mason reflects.
Her pilgrimage to New Mexico was a chance to reclaim a sense of playfulness and curiosity after an enervating season. pit of mine captures a spirit of creative freedom, of Mason in solitude experimenting with sounds and skills with no external pressures. “I’m drawn to childlike, scrappy sounds, and many of my most treasured recordings are spontaneous field recordings of interesting sounds I encounter, either on my Tascam field recorder or on my phone,” Mason explains. “I also discovered a love for beat-making while making this record, using found sounds as well as recorded percussion and drum machines.”
The forthcoming sm^sher album, was started in New Mexico and finalised, produced and mixed in London and Stroud with the help of her Voka Gentle bandmates William J Stokes and sister Ellie Mason.
sm^sher allowed Mason to delve deep into her emotions, providing a space to process grief and confront long-held feelings through a cathartic, no-holds-barred exploration of sound and song. The album addresses themes of grief, sadness, anger, addiction, love, resilience, hope, and freedom. It’s personal and minimal in some moments, while expansive and aggressive in others. “Each song represents another attempt to comprehend and honour my relationship with that person, to grasp my capacity for expression and make a statement of ownership—of myself and my experiences,” Mason explains.
pit of mine Tracklist
1. beggars belief
2. heavy handed
3. (forthebirdies)
4. mother sugar
5. (splutter)
6. buyers lament
7. (rooks)
8. first love
9. (yourarenotalone)
10. humpback whale
11. chaos match
12. the reaction
13. melancholy blues
sm^sher Online:
Scrawl World Ltd Online:
