EVA808 will release Sultry Venom, her debut album, on heavyweight bass label Innamind Recordings.
Sultry Venom follows single Exchange, released in Innamind at the start of the year. Throughout the album, EVA808, real name Eva Jóhannsdóttir, builds a rich tapestry through her formidable sound, gliding through style and mood and flirting between the boundaries of genre. Sonically, it touches on dubstep, grime, trap, and everything in between. Each track is delivered in “ice cold fashion and shrouded in a hypnotic yet venomous mystique,” we’re told.
Jóhannsdóttir has been a staple of the bass music scene for some years, having started making grime and dubstep around 2011. Teaching herself FL Studio, she began making melodic, high-tempo drum & bass, drawing on her love for dark, cutting-edge electronics that can be traced back to her discovery of Daft Punk, and, later, The Prodigy. After relocating to Stockholm, Sweden, she became EVA808 in 2014.
Her sound took shape around 2016 with her Psycho Sushi EP. It’s not easy to categorize the music under one umbrella, but much if it sits close to dubstep, although often with more driving, attention-grabbing beats; it also tends to be jagged and broken, with obscure samples and rhythms.
In 2017, she delivered Prrr / ALL CAPS, a sample-heavy two-tracker with endorsement from Hudson Mohawke, who expressed his appreciation for “Prrr” online. 2018’s Pink Uzi Gang felt more expressive, but still with the EVA808 touch, and it serves as a prelude to the album.
In 2019, Jóhannsdóttir delivered a track to EDMjunkies+, titled “Low Hoe,” made in the summer of 2015 and since a staple in her DJ sets. It pairs a heavy, driving bassline with some subtle vocal samples, making for a dancefloor cut with emotional resonance.
Tracklisting
A1. Intro
A2. Drowning
A3. I Saw the Devil
A4. Drip Drip (Reflective Nikes)
B1. Demantar
B2. Broken Neon
B3. Show Dem
C1. Snakes
C2. Interlude
C3. Whoop Whoop
D1. Lean Back
D2. Gold Toothed Tigress
D3. Skull in the Mud
E1. Purple Soul
E2. No Rivals
E3. Heated Seats
F1. You Said You Would Come
F2. I Can’t
F3. Demantar Part 2. (Embla RIP)
Sultry Venom LP is scheduled for December 18 vinyl release on Innamind Recordings. It’ll be available digitally to buy, but not on streaming platforms. Pre-order links will be added as it comes available, and you can hear a clip of “Demantar” here.
