The insert for One on One, the new offering from Mira Calix (aka female DJ Chantal Passamonte), depicts a silver-eyed alien standing in a deserted forest, occupied only by trees, a white moon, and the alien himself. The jewel case's back insert depicts a small girl standing alone on a beach, surrounded only by sand, sky, and water. They're fitting images for the record-- One on One is an album of alienation, desolation, emptiness, and uneasiness.
Listening to One on One is like standing alone on an ever-mutating alien landscape. Indecipherable noises echo in the distance, subtlety modulating and shifting into other sounds. These hardly noticeable changes, which permeate every track, create a nauseating undertone, making the record a truly unsettling listen. It's heightened by the fact that many of the One on One's sounds don't seem "right." The dense rhythm on "Sparrow" never fully settles into a steady beat. The melody on "Schmyk" begins as a simple, minimalistic tune in a minor key. Then another melody, slightly out of tune with the original, enters the mix, establishing its own complimenting tune. But before the track gets stagnant, the second melody frantically shifts its tonal center, leading to some of the most fucked up harmonies this side of a bear quartet. These unexpected changes leave the listener lost. But never bored.
Another contributing factor to the album's otherworldly tone is Passamonte's extra-terrestrial vocals. On "Ms. Meteo," Passamonte sounds like Patti Smith filtered through a vocoder. She sprinkles barely coherent whispers throughout One on One, most of which wind up buried at the very back of the mix. But the farther Passamonte's voice drifts into the background, the more intently you find yourself listening, trying to decipher her cryptic murmurs.
One on One has led me to two conclusions: 1) Chantal Passamonte is fucked up. 2) Music can be nauseating in a good way. And while the album may be a bit abrasive at times, it's abundantly clear that Passamonte intended it to be that way-- it's not pretty, and that's what makes it good.
