tropicalfuturesinstitute
absolute emo banger, synths got me feeling all sorts of things, could see this as a great interlude or sunrise moment, maybe a reprieve on the dance floor that forces us to reckon with ourselves, the shit were dancing out.
Favorite track: Courtesy - Hearts.
Following her 2022 debut EP Night Journeys, Courtesy continues down a path of blissful and serene sonic melodrama, further establishing her own idiosyncratic ambient dance music beyond her live performances.
The title of the EP Violence of the Moodboard is lifted from the essay “Adam Pendleton and the Issue of Originality in the Digital Age,” written by fashion critic and curator Jeppe Ugelvig, who explores the ubiquity – and complexity – of appropriation and copyright infringement in artistic contexts, specifically within fashion. Reflecting on the violence inflicted in the de-contextualised image, Ugelvig references the fashion-world practice of including un-credited images from the work of visual artists in non-public moodboarding as the foundation for creating a new collection. Violence of the Moodboard comprises of three tracks culminating in Courtesy’s commissioned work for fashion adjacent projects, including soundtracks for fashion shows and videos.
Courtesy plays with the act of divorcing art from origin and re-contextualising in her own format, highlighting both a dialogue and conflict between the original work and appropriation. She covers L.S.G.’s cult trance classic “Hearts”, but in Courtesy’s version it’s softened, distilled to its core in a blend of ambient and synthesizer euphoria. “AW23” slowly builds momentum with rising and falling arpeggios permeated with astral unease, teasing you with elements of a build up that never reaches its apex. In contrast, “Violence of the Moodboard” launches into circular rhythmic patterns, tenderly embracing synthetic sonic qualities to convey fragility.
The cover artwork, entitled Patision 82, was created by artist Sofia Defino Leiby, collaborator and friend of Courtesy. Fusing several different layered techniques, including screen printing and collage, Leiby emulates elements of advertising material – here specifically a model’s peculiar gaze at the audience within a Kenzo ad campaign. The composite make-up of the image becomes clear when seen in light of its consumerist nature – itself derivative of a moodboard, re-contextualised in a tongue-in-cheek manner by Leiby.
Bio
Najaaraq Vestbirk (b. 1987) also known as Courtesy, is a Danish artist and musician based between Copenhagen and Berlin. Her multidisciplinary practice began on the dancefloor, which she used as a starting point to explore the organic relationships formed between strangers, investigating the ways people coalesce and the intimate exchanges that occupy these transcendent spaces. Spanning installation, composition, DJ sets, performance, photography and video, Vestbirk is interested in the liveness and interactive potential of performance, particularly in collective exchange and questioning ways in which the artist can dissolve the line between the audience and themselves.
Text by Cheuk Ng
credits
released April 21, 2023
Credits:
Courtesy - Violence of the Moodboard
Written and produced by Najaaraq Vestbirk
Additional production by Alex Kassian
Mixed by James Kelly
Mastered by Joel Krozer / Six Bit Deep
Courtesy - Hearts
Written by Oliver Lieb
Published by Musik Edition Discoton GmbH / Universal Music Publishing Group
Produced by Najaaraq Vestbirk
Additional production by Alex Kassian
Mixed by James Kelly
Mastered by Joel Krozer / Six Bit Deep
Courtesy - AW2023
Written and produced by Najaaraq Vestbirk
Additional production by Alex Kassian
Mixed by James Kelly
Mastered by Joel Krozer / Six Bit Deep
Artwork:
Sofia Defino Leiby Patision 82
300 x 200 cm 2
018
Enamel, photo transfer, correction fluid, sgraffito, pencil, watercolor on artist panel
Image courtesy Sweetwater, Berlin/Benjamin Marvin
supported by 12 fans who also own “Courtesy - Violence of the Moodboard”
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