Kelsey Lu and Yves Tumor have teamed up for a new song called “let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out”. It’s a murky experimental track that also features contributions from Kelly Moran and Moses Boyd.
Lu’s 2019 album Blood and Tumor’s 2020 opus Heaven to a Tortured Mind are quite different in many ways, but they share a low-lit ambiance and a sense of cathedral-like beauty. On this collaborative single, both of their steamy falsettos sound part of the same whole, blending and swirling around one another over woozy piano lines. Eventually, some congas and electronic production enter the fray, and the track concludes with a tastefully busy arrangement.
Take a listen to the full tune below.
In a statement, Lu described the intense emotions the song is imbued with, explained its unique compositional process, and opened up about her exit from her major label.
“let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out” is about Taking Risks and plunging heedlessly into the unknown. embracing your dark side that is ultimately your light side. going manic and pulling yourself out of that mania. accepting the challenge of being wholly and completely yourself, a mutant that bends itself backwards to embrace it’s true nature and the depth that lies within. The way this song has evolved is a mirror to how processing can be fragmented through time. From my delirious vocal takes I did alone in an Airbnb in between touring Blood, dragging the mic into the bathroom while I pee which happens to be an imperative textural element of the song itself, and to everyone else who is a part of this song being in different corners of the world who each of which I have a personal relationship with mostly through Collaboration which is such an imperative part of my practice. This song also marks an evolution since my departure from a major label, and the work I’ve done between then and now that’s been deconstructing the poisons that ever brought me any kind of doubt as to the power that lies within my artistry and killing it. So. let all the poisons that lurk in the mud seep out. A Christmas miracle!
Lu’s Blood was released in 2019 via Columbia Records, so it seems that the cellist and Solange collaborator has parted ways with them sometime within the last year. Outside of this single she’s had a relatively quiet 2020, but Tumor’s Heaven to a Tortured Mind cracked both our Top 50 Albums and Top 50 Songs of 2020 lists. Before this song, Kelly Moran most recently appeared on the guest-heavy new Avalanches record.
