On the cover of “EMA”, the recent album from Japanese artist Sienná, two eyes appear, each representing a different realm. One is a blunt brown, the other, an image of Earth. This dichotomy is reflected in the music: one eye looks to unbridled experimentalism, the other to tradition, form, and effective creative expression. It’s no surprise that Sienná did the cover artwork herself.
Now based in Norway, Sienná blends a traditional Japanese sensibility rooted in creativity with a detached Scandinavian cool. Tracks such as “Aenaria” have a stately elegance in their lush synthetic strings, while “369 (Miroku)” features layers of hushed vocals, crunchy electric guitars, and glacial siren-like wails.
There’s also the alluring City Pop feel of opening track “Be A Seeker, Believer”, the lyrics of which persuade the listener to throw caution to the wind in a daunting world (“You´re a dreamer, lone drifter, made to be an adventurer. Just find your way back to me in this sad beauty, beauty, beautiful world”), while the punchy simplicity of “Your Face My Facts”, which has dancefloor ambitions without forgetting its abstract eccentricism, sports whimsical vocal samples.
Elsewhere, “Finding Your Inner Sanctuary” and “The Majestic” deal in freeform instrumental cinematic worldbuilding, potentially presenting the core of the project’s aim. It’s clear Sienná has a rich inner world, reflected in music that reaches for colourful abstractions imbued with emotional intent. The emotion isn’t quite sadness or melancholy, but those are never far away.
Through her keyboard and synth work, Sienná displays a wide sonic palette on “EMA”. What’s more impressive is how creatively she uses it.
★★★★
Sienná official website https://www.sienna-web.com
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