Can a playlist explain an album that hasn't even come out yet? Chilean singer-rapper Akriila decided to find out. Timed with her feature on NME's The Cover this week, she dropped a playlist titled "Lucy Is The New Hopecore," placing acts like Bassvictim, Corridos Ketamina, fellow Cover alum Chanel Beads, and her collaborator Jane Remover's work under the Venturing name alongside old-school reference points like PJ Harvey and The Beatles. Released by NME on Apple Music and Spotify, the playlist is meant to pave the way for her upcoming second album, "Lucy Miró Al Mundo Y Notó Que Está Girando, Es Mi Segundo Disco" (English title: "Lucy Looked At The World, And Noticed That It's Spinning").
Written by Charis McGowan and shot by Lo Harley, this Cover story is the clearest look yet at the concept behind the new album. Akriila has already released three singles — "Partedemipartedeti," "Roger," and "Suave" with Jane Remover. She brought up Ukrainian artist shelestvetrovki's work "She Is So Hot I Wanna Clean Her Room" to NME to illustrate the core shift in the new record: "Everything's a mess, and you're just staring at your own problems, extremely self-centered. And then there's a turning point: real light has to come through the window for you to realize there's more out there. The world is spinning, and I'm growing too."
The feature also traces Akriila's upbringing in Santiago — teaching herself guitar and stepping into the city's thriving trap scene. She talked about how the pandemic lockdowns and Santiago's protests shaped her generation: "I'm from the generation that didn't know what to do, whether to go to university or not, I was lost." "During the pandemic, I forced myself to figure out what I wanted, and music was always there. Then I started putting stuff out without thinking too much about it." On her signature use of Auto-Tune, she described it as a filter, an effect, that still filters through to something real: "I can become a more playful character. My recordings are all built on feeling."
Akriila's full Cover story is now live on NME's website, with the playlist available on Apple Music and Spotify for readers to listen along.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zcH0ahMjXX8nmrUi30u6L?si=L_kTh4zMRy-WO_y5mA6kNg
