Drawing us in with a subversive, metallic frequency expanding into an emotive piano performance, LTMAA opens Violent Bouquets with atmospheric vocals as she sings, “I hold the flowers, I’m yours not mine, violently erase me, steal me from the light, tell them you love me, let the lie feel warm, violently erase me, unbind me from the dawn…”
We immediately connect with the high emotional quotient and LTMAA (aka Lynn Murphy Michalopoulos)’s poetic prowess. There is no doubt that Violent Bouquets is a highly profound expression that explores the painful loss of identity in a consuming relationship, where love becomes possession, truth turns into a comforting lie, and the desire to belong means surrendering yourself.
LTMAA confesses, “The song draws from a symbolic nightmare about a relationship that looks idyllic from the outside, a man offering flowers in a perfect garden, declaring his devotion for all to see, while privately becoming someone dangerous and abusive. It’s a metaphor for the way violence can hide behind charm, and how the most beautiful settings can hold the darkest shadows.”
The evolution with subversive almost break-beat textures and glitched vocals is pure genius, and reminds us of trip-hop legends like Massive Attack, but with a more contemporary edge. The cinematic allure is tangible, and we could imagine the track being featured in a TV show like The Day of the Jackal which has a notorious trip-hop soundtrack. It would also be a great fit for a show like Interview with the Vampire, or Killing Eve. We could also imagine it landing sync placements in films such as The Neon Demon, Gone Girl, Black Swan, The Handmaiden and Eyes Wide Shut.
We could imagine fans of Portishead, Morcheeba, Zero 7, Sneaker Pimps, FKA twigs, Sevdaliza and Sade connecting with what LTMAA has created. LTMAA brings considerable musical history to this solo project, having previously fronted Philadelphia indie rock and trip-hop band Bebek during the early 2000s. On Violent Bouquets, she takes on composition, lyrics, vocals and keys, collaborating with producers Omar Waqar and Eddie Grey to create a sound that feels both deeply personal and sonically adventurous.
Needless to say, we are in awe of the artistic vision behind Violent Bouquets. This is trip-hop with teeth: a darkly poetic exploration of the violence that can hide behind charm. It’s radical and fresh and we are obsessed. We have added Violent Bouquets to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of LTMAA, including her debut single, Pain of Us.