CLAIRE ROUSAY - MARTYNA BASTA - Hotel Room

In 2023, Claire Rousay and Martyna Basta crossed paths in Poland during an artist residency promoted by Unsound. This encounter gave rise to the first collaboration between two of the leading young artists on the contemporary electroacoustic scene, a connection sustained remotely in the following period through an intense exchange of material each developed independently. On one side, the everyday elegy of the Los Angeles-based sound artist; on the other, the shadowy aural hallucinations of the Kraków musician — fused into a perfectly cohesive whole despite its ever-shifting shapes.

The overarching framework of the work is built from the sensations tied to long stretches spent in hotel rooms while on tour, the disorientation and lack of fixed points that destabilize yet also serve as a creative engine. In this sense, the varying shapes of the six tracks prove functional to that intent, as does the combination of composite elements such as found sounds, vocal modulations and synthetic frequencies. Shadows dominate throughout, whether one is wandering the oblique textures of a hauntological landscape ("Denim") or advancing through an acousmatic environment of tactile consistency, pierced by ghostly, fully deconstructed operatic singing ("Where Are You Now").

Voices are indeed one of the constants, from the asmr-mode intro of the kaleidoscopic "Zoom" — already used by Basta on "Winged In Collapse" and a natural nod to Felicia Atkinson – to the heavily manipulated ones on "Cool Girls Go To Heaven", which recall Rousay's excellent "A Softer Focus".
It's a coherent journey, skillfully built and bolstered by a fusion of languages that shows no cracks. An enchanting hypnagogic voyage, an important piece in both artists' discographies.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

01/10/2026