A repeat episode from 2020.
Lafawndah's second album, The Fifth Season, on French label Latency, is a journey through science fiction, friendship and cinematic storytelling.
It saw the Paris-born artist expand the myths of NK Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy and cover the likes of Beverly Glenn Copeland and Lili Boulanger. The record continues a four-year run of avant pop jewels, kicked off by her a debut EP for Warp and a collaboration with minimalist composer Midori Takada in 2018, before her first full-length statement, 2019's Ancestor Boy.
Here, she speaks with Martha Pazienti Caidan about the making of The Fifth Season, an LP that's elemental, emotional and uncannily fitting for the present moment.