Xen is the debut studio album by Venezuelan electronic musician Arca, released on 4 November 2014 through Mute Records.[4] The album was recorded over a largely improvised six-month period in 2014.[5]
Background
The title of the album is a reference to Ghersi's "feminine spirit" as portrayed in the album artwork and videos. According to the artist, the designer Jesse Kanda asked "if I had a girl's name when I was a kid, I told him that I have this image in my head when I listen to a song of mine that I really love or that I feel happy with. I move really slowly in a very effeminate way [and] close my eyes and I see this naked being who exists in front of an audience. Everyone is simultaneously attracted to it and repulsed".[6]
Upon reflection she felt that "Those were all projections of my psyche; of how I viewed my own sexuality and how I engaged with people through the lens of sensuality. Xen is an 'it'. I lean towards calling Xen 'her' in response to the fact that society historically leans towards men having more power. Me calling Xen 'her' is an equalisation of that."[6] This is reflected in the video for the song "Thievery". Ghersi noted that the song-titles have little meaning except for "Failed" which was written about her then-boyfriend Daniel Sannwald.[6]
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]AllMusic said "the way Arca plays with and decorates time, letting sounds and moods mutate spontaneously, makes Xen a complete picture of [her] artistry and also promises much more."[9]Clash described the album as a "captivating, at times unexplainable reaching of pained highs and battered lows."[18]Consequence stated that Arca's "time alongside Gesaffelstein added to [her] understanding of the space between beats, and the emotive power of these hesitations."[10]The Observer said Xen is "one of those albums that elegantly restates the appeal of digital music, expressing hues and states of being that fall outside the analogue spectrum."[13]
Pitchfork stated: "Taken as a whole, it is an album about unstable unities, things that cannot easily hold together, wholes breaking to pieces and being put back together again in new and unfamiliar shapes."[3]PopMatters said: "This is uncompromising stuff, with little holding back, and the end effect is one that wears not just its heart, but its soul, on its sleeve."[2]Resident Advisor said "Xen remains as singular–and often as brilliant–as the rest of the Arca catalogue."[15]Fact wrote: "Even if [her] chops as a producer aren't in question, the writing on Xen is too patchy to fully realise Ghersi's ambitions. Still, it's hardly lacking in ideas."[19]
[9]