Blankie is the project of Tori Dawn, a musician and visual artist from the KW region. Their 2022 album Cosmic Baby sleeps in your ears like a whispered secret. The record boasts a fearlessness in traversing sonic realms, reminiscent of early FKA Twigs.
Dawn’s personal style, however, is clearly defined between both records in equal measures to space-pop goddess influences. Taking on the role of solo, multi-instrumentalist, Dawn delivers a symbol of introspection to listeners without live accompaniment. Using a synthesizer, a drum machine and an array of vocal range, the artist builds upon loops to create atmospheric synth-pop ballads as an army of one.
Cosmic Baby takes a more intuitive approach to composing. Dawn brings experimentation to the forefront of their creative process—wrangling atonal synth noises and spaced-out effects into pop-sensible bangers and intergalactic-folk tunes.
The riff is plucked gently as a synth-voice delivers a spoken word poem between two notes. Vocal effects distort the artist’s identity with a pitch shifter before Dawn’s signature vocal blend of R&B and sultry pop electronica permeates through a lush piano lick. A chorus of many voices swells, filling the space between distant notes and laying the foundation for a patchwork of noises to emerge.
Dawn’s compositions carry us through expansive refrains and strange loops, leading us with uneasy melodies to a pit of low, grumbling bass.
The vibrations emit under modulated guitars that bounce from high to low. Cosmic Baby is made up of otherworldly compositions bolstered by pop-sensible song structure.
Though little is known about space music, this album sheds light on the genre. Dawn creates pop songs that emanate with traditional allure while allowing themselves to experiment with interesting sounds. They execute their musicality with deliberation and maturity, displaying artistic growth as their second record paves the way to new sonic lands.
Genre: Pop, Spacetronica, Space-Pop, Ambient, Intergalactic Folk.