Dima - Salva (2026)

Barcelona-based Argentine sound artist Dima uses mythology to re-examine her personal world on 'Salva', dissolving instrumental phrases with confounding granular processes and allowing fragile trip-hop-inspired songs to emerge from the ambiance.

There's an unexpected balance on 'Salva'. At first, on the opener 'SOELAR' or its breathy follow-up 'APOGEO', you might think you have it figured out, its atmospheric blend of plasticky flutes and sci-fi pads. But as the latter track hits its third act, something unexpected appears - Dima's voice was already there, haunting the soundscape, but when a slowed-down beat joins it provides a real surprise. And 'Salva' keeps rocking from side to side, never settling into a reliable groove. On 'QUANTUM', Dima sings into an echoing void almost unaccompanied, but on 'FOLDING INWARD', she adds atmospheric synths and gong-y resonances to go in another direction, moving away from song structure towards grim abstraction.

And after the one-two punch of the album's poppiest tracks, 'REACH' and 'IT HAD TO BURN', Dima concludes with 'Inked', a throbbing dark ambient nightmare that seems to dive deep beneath an alien ocean. Terrifying stuff.