LUWTEN RELEASES LATEST ALBUM “DRAFT”
Under the moniker LUWTEN, Dutch artist Tessa Douwstra records, writes, performs, and produces cunning pop that incites both the head and the heart. In the past Douwstra’s music was an attempt to cast a light on the introverted, embracing comfort in your own solitude and selfhood. Forthcoming second album Draft takes on a different challenge: how to be that person with others in the room.
“For this album I wanted to open the door a little and came up with the idea of Draft. Draft is about opening the door a little, let in some outside air and influences.” Said LUWTEN. “I also liked Draft as being the beginning of something. I don’t think we’re ever going to be finished and I like that idea of people as a never-ending draft. I noticed I’m writing a lot about thinking versus feeling and being alone versus being together with other people. I love the idea of music as self-exploration. For the maker as well as the listener."
LUWTEN takes its name from a Dutch word which simply means ‘place without wind’. Amsterdam-based Tessa Douwstra adopted it as the moniker for her solo abstract pop project - which fuses organic instrumentation with field recordings and sampling - so enamoured was she with the creative process of “working in a total vacuum”. Her EP of late 2020 Door bore the unambiguous title that reflected, in Tessa’s own words; “A study of a perfectionist who acknowledges that everything’s in a constant state of flux.”
The embrace and empathy in LUWTEN’s music lies in the process itself. She’s looking for new ways, without reading the manual first. Douwstra’s new material for 2021 marks a determined move towards opening up a little, allowing a little fresh air, some outside influence, to rush in underneath the door left ajar. Speaking about the ideas of agency, control and freedom - increasingly applicable to the global crises of 2020/2021 - which have preoccupied her recent creative processes, Tessa notes; “How much of being alone is because it’s helpful? How much of being alone is because you’re afraid? Does being alone help being authentic? Or is looking for authenticity something you could or even should look for with others?”
Through her work, LUWTEN searches for the answer to one of life’s biggest challenges: how to reconcile a yearning for both solitude and companionship. It’s a quandary the world of today is suddenly coping with on a massive scale. Though the balance between spending time alone and with others is ever-changing, Douwstra finds solace in small, bemused observations she can clutch onto like cherished mementos.
LUWTEN has fast built a profile throughout Europe, with spins on various radio stations throughout the Netherlands, and now BBC Radio 1 in the UK. The indie-pop star has also seen support across streaming, including spots on New Music Friday in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Deutschland, as well as cracking the Netherlands Viral 50.