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Music

PREMIERE: Listen to Natasha Kmeto's Fierce 'Inevitable'

The record explores Kmeto's relationship with her longtime partner and the self-actualization of her queer identity.

Photo by Rebekah Long

It's been two years since we last heard from Portland producer-composer-singer-songwriter Natasha Kmeto on her debut Crisis, and she's kept plenty busy in the time since putting in work to hone her many crafts.

While working with Northwest label/electronic artist collective Dropping Gems, Kmeto caught the attention of TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, who reached out to her on Twitter after hearing her music on the radio. She since went on to tour with the band and worked with member Dave Sitek on his Federal Prisms label before focusing on the follow-up to Crisis.

Her growth from those collaborations is palable on Inevitable, her much-anticipated second LP (out September 18 on Dropping Gems), on which Adebimpe also guests. Where Crisis explored the contrast between isolated, minimalist beats and Kmeto's powerhouse voice, Inevitable puts the latter front and center, backing it with a fuller, pop-infused sound that's as ready for the dancefloor as it is close listening under headphones. Kmeto's got something to say, and she wants you to hear it: The record is an exploration of her relationship with her longtime partner and the self-actualization of her queer identity, and it's especially refreshing to hear an artist buck the trend of the whispy, restrained vocals that increasingly dominate today's electronic-R&B landscape.

Get a first listen of Inevitable exclusively on Noisey below and pre-order the album on Bandcamp.

Follow Andrea Domanick on Twitter.