album: Swim Team - Christelle Bofale

Swim Team is transcendent. The entirely unhurried approach to music-making demonstrated by Christelle Bofale calls you to softly, asking you to give it time to breathe, move, and truly share its tale of darkness turned to light held within the contents of its five tracks.

Back in April, Bofale released “U Ouchea,” a glorious 7-minute track that stretches it wings before taking flight. It was the first example of just how mystical the music of Bofale was, and Swim Team only further explores that identity.

Opening with “Moving On, Getting On” Bofale takes her time in addressing the listener, and instead allows a section of strings to ring out, curling into her voice as she softly declares, “Moving on, it ain’t easy/Getting on, it ain’t clear to me.” Each note is given its space in the story, and whether a hum or an oooh, Bofale relishes those moments of holding back, grasping your attention with its woozy, deliberate nature. And whether you fall into the metallic strings and otherworldly noises that serve as a dreamy precursor to Bofale’s husky, heartbreaking reflection of something lost (“Love Lived Here Once”) or you choose to linger in the surprisingly airy delights of the unknown (“Where to Go”), Swim Team is confirmation that sometimes, you just need to turn off the notifications, put down the phone, and explore the world through someone else’s eyes. And as for the world of Swim Team? Well, Bofale has created one stunning masterpiece.