In Fresia Magdalene EP, the Berlin-based artist pays tribute to her native Lima, Peru - in bittersweet house music that wears its spiritual yearning on its sleeve.
Sometimes, particularly these days, those in search of grace find they must create it themselves. In the Callao district of Lima, Peru, for instance, crowds of outcasts including transgender individuals and people surviving homelessness and poverty gather to worship a DIY saint at a concrete-block shrine. Sarita Colonia was a devout domestic in the 1930s who cared tirelessly for her troubled family and then died at 26, her body tossed in an anonymous mass grave. Since then, Colonia has become a cult figure for people in Lima who deserve the mercy their Catholic church denies them, just as it denies Colonia a sanctioned sainthood. Miracles persist: A drag queen told the L.A. Times that Colonia saved him from murderous homophobes, bending the bullets around him Matrix-style. Over the decades, the shrine has become a party, a kind of rave for the faithful who can’t get past the Catholic church’s velvet ropes.
Colonia has appeared on the cover of each release by Lima-born, Berlin-based Sofia Kourtesis; her visage hovers in the clouds or emerges through thick coats of paint on the producer’s two excellent 2019 EPs for Stockholm’s reliable bliss experts Studio Barnhus, as if 12" sleeves could be Shrouds of Turin for a new kind of savior. Kourtesis titled the first one after herself and the second for the should-be-saint. She’s there on the cover of Kourtesis’s new EP, whose design by Sofia Lucarelli joins illustrations of plants and photos of the Callao cemetery as if to emphasize the nature of life and death. The music within throws its hands in the air as prayers to house deities like Moodymann, whose powers of anticipation and release are echoed in Kourtesis’ extended sighs; DJ Koze, the Loki of post-Balearic tricky disco, whose style is here rendered a bit more low-key and beatific; and fellow bell-ringer evangelicals Pantha du Prince and Four Tet, schooled in the holy trinity of crown, sound bow, and clapper. But Kourtesis has a sound of her own: unfailingly warm, thoughtful in form, risking a certain conservatism for the sake of welcome comfort. Like the shrines to Colonia, Kourtesis’ beats reward belief.
“Fresia Magdalena” expands the pantheon of those Kourtesis finds venerable, including her mother, Fresia, and the people of Magdalena del Mar, the district of Lima where, as a teenager, she surfed the waves and got banished from convent school. Opener “La Perla” puts its faith in ripples of synths and briny percussion, breaking around foamy bits of field recordings and her own vocals; it’s an aching tribute to afternoons spent staring at the sea and trying to make peace with her father’s death. His voice intermingles with samples of disco diva riffing and other, younger voices on “Nicolas,” which takes the pleasure principles of French-touch house à la Roulé and builds a casa de playa beneath an ocean of stars. “By Your Side” is a bit more ooh-la-la, decked out in samples of snazzy horn sections and someone tickling ivories that will tickle the fancy of party people whenever the parties resume.
“Juntos” swings like prime-era Herbert, but its vibe is more morning-after than afterparty, closer to her current Berlin than the Peru of her past. A melancholy violin cuts through the gloom, a crisp beat fidgets, a bit of melody jumps an octave, variously an earworm and alarm. The track embodies doubt but won’t mope; it peers into the vastness of what’s just below sadness and turns away, both clear-eyed and teary. And then arrives “Dakotas,” shimmering and dawn-y, tranced like Octo Octa and Eris Drew have been lately but with shakers and open hi-hats serving as the Amen. Pads, deep and wide in the mix, offer softness. Voices form choruses; some say “hi.” (Or, ahem, “high.”) It’s a modest kind of heartfelt anthem. If you need it, it’s a miracle.
by your side
Sofia Kourtesis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a very old song
I only have eyes for you
Everything I take, we see!
Everything I take, we see!
Everything I take, we see!
Alright!
You aren′t sure what I remember this time
It's a very old song
I only have eyes for you
Everything we see! Everything we see! Everything we see! Everything we see!
Everything we see! Everything we see! Everything we see! Everything we see!
Alright!
Everything I take, we...
Alright!
Alright!
Alright!
Alright!
You aren't sure what I remember this time
It′s a very old song
I only have eyes for you
The lyrics to Sofia Kourtesis's song "By Your Side" are a bit cryptic and open to interpretation. It seems like the singer is addressing someone who isn't sure what they remember from a past experience. They reference an old song, which may be a shared memory between the two. Then, the singer declares that they only have eyes for this person, indicating a strong level of affection.
The repetition of the phrase "Everything we see!" and "Everything I take, we see!" could be interpreted in a few different ways. It could be a recognition of the interconnectedness between the two people, and that they experience everything together. Alternatively, it could be a hint at the importance of perspective, and how everything that is taken from a situation is dependent on what is observed. The repeated "Alright!" at the end of each stanza, could be seen as a way of bolstering the singer's resolve or the agreement between the two people speaking.
Overall, the lyrics to "By Your Side" leave a lot of room for interpretation, but the repetition of particular phrases seems to be significant in conveying the emotional resonance of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
You aren't sure what I remember this time
You are uncertain of what I remember from our past experiences.
It's a very old song
The memory I am referring to is from a long time ago.
I only have eyes for you
My focus is solely on you, as if you were the only person in the world.
Everything I take, we see!
Everything I experience, we share in understanding and perception.
Alright!
Confirmation and agreement to continue our shared experiences together.
Writer(s): Andrew Hale, Stuart Matthewman, Helen Adu, Paul Denman
Contributed by Hunter V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bellebirdy
such a new type of song to me personally....... not repetitive in a bad way, just so familiar and warming and inviting. I can't help but dance everytime I listen. 💖
@ash1one
Top tune ❤
@funkndeep
Found myself dancing to this one in our building's elevator in Seattle, WA, USA. Held the elevator open long enough to Shazam it 😌🕺🏻
@braydenadams2287
Dedication at its finest !!🤣🙌🏽
@Exist64
Now this is elegant art
@J.5.M.
Beautiful! Had me dancing
@derekdjonsgaming
Coming back from work daily and turning on this track. It makes me have peace with my day and enjoy my down-time
@Aska1980
Was für ein Sound 😊😊😊
@own_Aeko
This song scared the hell out of me, I thought someone was ringing the doorbell. It is just the bell sound in the song...
I should smoke less.
@maiabrennas3842
😂😂😂😂😂Same here,i heard a voice and it startled me😂