Rozi Plain takes us to a land of daydreaming adventure and enigmatic word play that is far removed from these cold streets and dreary times

What a Boost, Rozi Plain’s fifth album, is the product of a wide range of places and a host of collaborations. It was recorded in a number of locations ranging from London to LA as well as less conventional locations such as an RAF Base in Suffolk. Working with a whole host of artists, Plain has produced an album which is constantly in motion. Repetitive melodies swirl around enigmatic word play that leaves us guessing, squinting at something on the horizon that never quite comes into focus, shifting at the last minute as we meander round a bend in the road. On “The Gap”, Plain sings of “Moving away and moving back”; it leaves the feeling of never settling for too long while dream-like fragments drift back and forth in our vision, the focus shifting and the tempo moving as the image turns to smoke the second we reach out to grab it. We fall back on our daydreams and imaginations to fill in that elusive gap she sings of. The point of a good journey isn’t in the destination but in the getting there and What a Boost is a wonderful trip to be taking.

As mentioned above, What a Boost took inspiration from, and was recorded in, multiple locations, each of which played a role in influencing the feel of the album. One such place was London’s The Total Refreshment Centre (an important hub for the city’s jazz and dance scenes which was forced to close its doors by the local council last year). The album is paved with subtle, jazzy guitar melodies which guide us through tracks such as “Quiz” and “Dark Park”, like breadcrumbs in the forest, offering us a path of escape. All the while languid percussion sets an easy pace, never hurrying nor demanding too much. Plain guides us to an unknown destination, far removed from the tensions and anxieties of modern Britain.

The album ends with a cover of Sun Ra’s “When There is No Sun”. She transforms the original – a fairly one dimensional, piano-led jazz piece – into a mellow, warm and multi-layered number that positively glows in its laid-back tempo. As the title hints, it is the perfect music to watch the sun going down to. Soon there will be no sun, but all its warm hues and tones are on display here as it comes down over the horizon, bringing the album to a close.

Fernweh is one of those wonderful German compound nouns that perfectly describe an emotion that just can’t be succinctly explained in English. It describes the longing and desire we all feel from time to time to travel and seek out adventure. In What a Boost, Plain takes us away on that adventure, always moving slowly, but never stopping long enough to settle. By the time the journey is over, we are left with that sense of fernweh, longing to be taken away with her once again.

roziplain.bandcamp.com

Chris Bateman
Latest posts by Chris Bateman (see all)