The debut solo LP from TERR, ‘Consciousness As A State Of Matter’ arrives digitally on Phantasy on 28th April, following an enviable run of singles that have transported the music of Daniela Cadellas onto an increasingly rare diversity of dancefloors. Across eleven tracks, TERR continues a long, fulfilling journey in electronic music with a visceral, vulnerable full-length statement that alchemizes a delicate chemistry between the catharsis of the dancefloor and the ever-renewing promise of pop.
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Just as on 2022’s striking ‘Only For Tonight’, an effervescent banger that rapidly blossomed in the sets of DJs from Soulwax, Solomun, and Jennifer Cardini to drag icon Trixie Mattel, the ideas and songwriting on ‘Consciousness As A State Of Matter’ energetically spill forth just as illustrated on the psychedelic, hallucinatory artwork from designer Sebastian Ofuszak. Inspired by tireless and timeless innovators in the history of electronic music such as Giorgio Moroder, Wendy Carlos and Phil Oakey, ‘Consciousness As A State Of Matter’ always looks to the future as much as the past, and never without a refreshing sense of playfulness.
“Writing the album, I tried to be instinctive”, explains Cadellas. 'Consciousness As A State Of Matter’ emerges from a recent scientific idea that our thoughts, our creativity, could be considered alongside a solid, a liquid or a gas. When I consider how I engage with music - write, listen or DJ it – this process crystalizes into a result that feels true to my inner-self, and my life as an artist.”
Opening this journey, ‘Tale of Devotion’ pays tribute to the romance and ecstasy of her influences, a tender but extravagant introduction layered with orchestral strings and Cadellas’s earnest vocals. In immediate juxtaposition, TERR ventures into chaos and confusion of the contemporary dating scene on the aforementioned ‘Only For Tonight’, a nocturnal electro-thriller that sees TERR cast herself as a wry observer of casual lust, as well as cosmic romance.
‘Warp Drive’ and ‘Time Crystal’ instantly absorb us into the confident and charismatic shades of high-energy that lie at the centre of TERR’s celebrated DJ sets, accelerating dancers through time and space without losing any sense of true musicality. The sensual modulation of ‘Energy Sync’ builds a weightless paean to co-habitation and communication (“it feels so nice/ when we sync our energy”), while ‘Wings of Time’ soars beyond the clouds on winds of change (“You can fly away/ I will be OK”).
‘Layers’ looks deep inwards to rave outwards, seamlessly translating the complexities of an interior life into cathartic deep-techno. ‘Imagination’ meanwhile slows the pace but inhabits the same space to find escape in the possibilities of self-actualization. “Life is so complete/ when you find out where you go...”, affirms Cadellas.
Later, in collaboration with fellow Berlin artist and vocalist Coloray, ‘Final Dance’ represents the album’s bittersweet peak, a melancholy groover that bravely embraces the uncertainty beyond the possibilities of the dancefloor. Nonetheless, ‘Consciousness As A State Of Matter’ boldly concludes with ‘States Of Mind’, a visceral acid track designed to prize eyes wide open, with hearts certain to follow.