Live Review: ALTA create another captivating ‘Sentiment’

Melbourne marvels of electronic fusion ALTA have released another luscious lo-fi creation in their latest single, ‘Sentiment’, accompanied by this guileless lyric video and headline tour dates for November and December.

This expressive new single follows on from the duo’s expansion of their sonic palette in ‘Fix It’ earlier this year, and continues to assert the signature gritty textures of producer Julius Dowson and the ardent vocals of Hannah Lesser within a fresh face of swooning tones and weightless melodies.

ALTA are distinguished in their field for shaping music that dwells between experimental dance and pop, generating tracks that are capricious and enchanting. ‘Fix It’ ultimately exhibited a growing incisive wisdom in their production and songwriting, and also marked a step-up in the duo’s approach to pushing the boundaries of their creativity and sound. This year has also seen the duo cultivate a striking live performance that has arrested stages at Splendour In The Grass and four BIGSOUND showcases, in addition to a sold out NGV Friday Nights for Dior headliner and supporting shows for Kilter and ABRA on their Australian tours.

‘Sentiment’ tenderly offers itself as an intricate dance track that is candid yet impenitent, narrated by words of self-assurance to tell a story of self-actualisation intertwined with a reminder to appreciate and find value yourself. Hannah explains, saying:

"Sentiment is a song about unraveling lies and being confident in accepting the truth. It’s the internal process you go through at different times in your life when you need to stand by who you are and have self-assurance in choices you’ve made. Sometimes you just have to cut the toxic things out of your life and know that you are enough. It's also about expectations. What people choose to share with you about their life, especially online, can slowly warp your ideas of how things "should be like". You gotta filter that out."

‘Sentiment’ opens with looping vocal samples and floating layers of synth pads and melodic textures as it is gradually endowed by gracefully paced percussive beats. Lesser's opening vocals initially harbour vulnerability as they are encircled by swarms of intricate tones and rhythms in an undercurrent of minimalistic and permissive ambiences. Gradually, a stream of harmonious synth leads and resilient beats coagulate, ebbing and flowing a stronger vitality into the track to enable the vocals to break free in stunning vigour.

This anomalous life force yielded by ALTA cuts yet another ingenious edge into their music and further propagates their virtuosity, making the duo an inescapable talent in the competitive electronic music scene. In addition to absolutely slaying their latest releases, Jules and Hannah also curate a seriously fervent live performance that will be showcased on their headline tour in November and December - a definite added bonus to this swoon-enduring track!

Dates and ticket information can be found below:

Sat 11 November / Jack Rabbit Slims / Perth Tickets

Sat 18 November / The Chippo Hotel / Sydney Tickets

Fri 24 November / The TAH / Hobart Tickets

Sat 2 December / Northcote Social Club / Melbourne Tickets

Image: Joseph Crackett/Only Odd for Purple Sneakers.

Words by FREYA DINESEN

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