ome buyers who put Billie Eilish‘s debut “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” on the turntable were horrified. The bass sounded distorted, as if the LP had been damaged. But the streaming version sounded exactly the same. Had the recording studio failed? Interestingly, others raved about the album‘s fabulous sound - about how the music „cuddles“ you. For example, beat programmer Ryohei Ito, who suffers from ADHD, wrote on his blog: „Despite the cruelty on the surface, Billie‘s music is deeply lovely.“ How exactly is this strange effect of tender brutality created? Ito suspects, „ This feeling comes from the mercilessly mixed sub-basses in songs like „when the party‘s over“ or „xanny“, which consist of little more than her voice and minimal instrumental accompaniment. Actually, she says, that sounds „not only unpleasant, but also unmusical, likeBut that‘s exactly what‘s appealing: „These massive, freaky deep sine waves envelop the listener like a hug.“ [1]
