Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Can anything worthwhile emerge from the world of Kanye West these days? A surprising answer arrives with the new album by LA-based 070 Shake, one of the dwindling number of acts still attached to the discredited rapper’s label GOOD Music.Shake’s real name is Danielle Balbuena. She was brought up in New Jersey, where a zip code supplies the numerals in her stage name. West signed her to his label in 2016 after being introduced to her music. She guested on his album Ye and has released her own. Her biggest chart breakthrough so far has been her cameo on Raye’s hit “Escapism”, bringing a washed-out slur to its exuberant tale of a woman going off the rails.Petrichor, named after the word for the earthy odour that follows rainfall, is her third album. It reunites her with her regular producer Dave Hamelin. The songs are unusual and intriguing. An affinity with West’s better qualities can be heard in her imaginative use of sound design and liberated approach to genre.The album’s guests epitomise the musical scope. One is Miami rapper JT, who adds a well-timed jolt of energy to cosmic ballad “Into Your Garden”. Country singer Cam turns up on “Never Let Us Fade”, which carries an echo of that most stylish of 1990s girl groups, All Saints (who were sampled by 070 Shake on a previous song). And Courtney Love lends her worldly rock drawl to a pillowy, synth-led version of Tim Buckley’s “Song to the Siren”.Shake’s vocals occupy a blurry space between singing and rapping. Her voice is layered and treated so as to fill the acoustic space with shadows, twins and impersonators. Persona, Ingmar Bergman’s film about doubles and personal disintegration, is an influence, although the album has a happy ending in the form of psychedelic gospel-rocker “Love”. Despite the profuse range of styles, instrumentation and beats, the songs don’t sound busy or confused. They move at their own pace and according to their own logic.★★★★☆‘Petrichor’ is released by Def Jam/GOOD Music
