Budding alt-pop duo Closegood have unveiled their genre-bending debut EP, Graven. The 11-track project was produced by go-to G.O.O.D. Music collaborator, Anthony Kilhoffer, who has worked with artists like Kanye West and Travis Scott.
Closegood comprises singer/songwriter/producer Nyfe and producer Amanda, both of whom identify as transgender. The duo met in college and began to craft Graven at an on-campus studio, using music as a way to escape their individual battles with depression.
“I found working with Closegood on their first release inspiring and refreshing,” Kilhoffer said in a statement. “It was great to be a part of shaping their sound of simplistic soul trap beats behind 2019’s lyrical miseducation.”
Closegood describe Graven as “a soundtrack for fire rituals and friend gatherings,” and the record finds the group toying with elements from across the musical spectrum, from the woozy trip-hop of “Horrorscope” and the grinding electro pulse of “Paperbag” to the spaced-out dark pop of “Luna” and the brash rap smack of “VMP.” Nyfe is an equally deft vocalist, spitting bars and unspooling spoken-word poetry one moment before slipping into a soft, airy croon the next.
Lyrically, Graven touches on issues of race, gender, sexuality, religion and mental health. Both Nyfe and Amanda were raised in religious households, and though college allowed them to meet and bond over art, the overall atmosphere at their school was often stifling. Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Nyfe recalled, “That was the first time I had ever been to a frat party and hearing people at the door say, with no shame, ‘Only let the black girls in if they look mixed.’ That was an interesting thing to say, because of the way that historically, in collegiate settings, you only have access to certain rooms. That had always been my experience with college, even if it wasn’t a race thing, it was a class thing, what your parents could afford.”
Graven Track List
1. “Spell”
2. “Omen”
3. “Paperbag”
4. “Nomad”
5. “Idle Hands”
6. “Horoscope”
7. “Easy”
8. “Luna”
9. “VMP”
10. “0011”
11. “Woods”