Electronic music visionary XÆRA unveils their highly anticipated debut album, ‘Becoming Conscious’, a release that weaves electro-pop, house, and dubstep into a narrative of awakening. This groundbreaking work marks a defining moment for the North Yorkshire-based producer, whose journey from self-doubt to artistic clarity spans a decade of relentless experimentation and growth.
XÆRA’s musical path ignited in 2015, sparked by the transformative sounds of Porter Robinson’s “Worlds,” Madeon’s “Adventure,” and Rezz’s hypnotic singles. These influences fueled a vision to fuse vibrant electro-pop with the pulsating rhythms of house and the gritty edge of dubstep, layered with intricate mid-tempo sound design. Yet, the road to Becoming Conscious was not without its challenges. Battling self-doubt and the weight of external perceptions, XÆRA spent years honing their craft, pausing to develop a unique artistic identity. By 2020, under the moniker XÆRA, they began releasing music that resonated with both personal authenticity and sonic ambition. XÆRA’s first three singles, Matarael, R Dust, and Malware, were featured on BBC Introducing York. In the first week of “Matarael’s” release, it was featured twice on the show and was voted Single of the Week two weeks in a row.
Becoming Conscious is a seamless, flowing journey, an abstract story of constructing dreamlike worlds in sleep, only to confront life’s raw realities upon waking. The album’s narrative pulses through its tracks, culminating in a standout final song that XÆRA describes as the heart of the project. This track, a masterful blend of melodic buildups and contrasting drops, took five attempts to perfect. Its first section evolves from light and uplifting to a dark, minimalistic descent, while the second drop erupts in a euphoric explosion of color, tying together the album’s emotional threads. A last-minute rewrite in an alternate key adds a surprising twist, mirroring the poignant solitude of awakening and the quiet reassurance of embracing the unknown.
Becoming Conscious is XÆRA’s bold arrival—an electrifying fusion of electro-pop, house, and dubstep that transforms vulnerability into vision.
Listen on all platforms here and follow XÆRA on Instagram, Spotify
