THE most experimental aspects of Niecy Blues’ Tquietly arresting debut for Kranky may not be immediately associated with sacred music. Yet is very much rooted in the sounds she heard at church while growing up in a religious household in Oklahoma. “I have always been drawn to mantric and sacred music,” says the now South Carolina-based artist, who uses she/they pronouns. “I feel a deep ancestral connection to circular sound, sounds that repeat and loop. Hymns, worship music, spirituals and other music like that felt very natural for me to sink into – it was often the most compelling part of church-going for me.” She notes it was there in the rhythm, cadence and poetic speech of the pastors, too.
