Fatima Al Qadiri was born in Senegal to Russian parents, raised in Kuwait and now lives in Brooklyn. Her backstory mirrors the eclecticism on Asiatisch, her debut album. Crossing international datelines has always been her way, as the soundscapes on previous releases for Tri Angle and Uno demonstrated. Here the sometimes Visionist and Future Brown collaborator, producer and composer looks to the East and, specifically, Western perceptions of what she calls "imagined China". There's a natural inquisitiveness at work as Al Qadiri goes into hyperactive buzzing mode with a slew of Sino-grime motifs that embellish and expand the concept. You get warped r'n'b ballads (Dragon Tattoo), eerie off-kilter wonky grooves (Wudang) and Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U enigmatically retooled and rebooted as Shanzhai. It's a head-spinning, adventurous and compelling set of sounds spliced and diced to impress. soundcloud.com/fatima-al-qadiri
Download: Shanzhai, Dragon Tattoo