Subversive in terms of expectations, james Krasner makes pop a new place of constant surprise and vivid experimentation. On the threshold between the corporeal and the immaterial, Krasner arrived here on the back of nothing more than her own diligence. An early student of string instruments, she saw in indie rock a palette of sonic expressiveness that has accompanied her ever since. Between her hometown of New York and her chosen home of Berlin, Krasner immersed herself in a vibrant scene of noise concerts, illegal parties, and multidisciplinary happenings. It wasn’t about hipster cred, but rather a need to get away from institutionalized places and audiences—and in line with the unconventional forms that attracted her.

This certainty of where to place her steps, towards an identity (or multiple identities, depending on the angle), led her to meet and work with people such as Beta Librae, Yves Tumor, Drew McDowall, Moin, and Oli XL along the way. As a resident artist on NTS online radio, the metamorphosis she demands became evident: from ambient music, industrial, shoegaze, or sounds collected on any street. This confluence of stimuli took each album to another dimension, recognizing her even among different musical guises.

Even today, Random Girl is an unusual diamond in Incenso’s brilliant catalog. Alongside the rhythmic undulations of DJ Python, Huerco S., or Buttechno, James K is not a fish out of water, but rather a kind of mythological animal that transcends mere biological understanding. A choral ensemble of rarefied songs that finds light in darkness and discovers gray areas even in the brightest hues. A luxurious album of textures and dreamlike escapism that expanded the possibilities already present in the previous PET. Coming to the present time, Krasner is preparing to release an upcoming album where she shuffles the deck once again to fascinate. There is talk of trip-hop evocation or allusions to drum n bass, knowing that none of this will be heard as it immediately sounds. Friend could be just another comeback, but it promises much more than that.

Started in 2023, Villa, Redhead is the solo project of Portuguese artist, producer and numerologist João Maciel. His music is difficult to place in one category, spanning different shades of rock, ambient music and hypnagogic pop, while always maintaining a strong melodic sensibility. A distinct vocal style—close-mic and shaped with autotune—is directly influenced by Organ Tapes, while his balance of experimentation and pop sensibility draws from Arthur Russell. Guitar textures later became more central to his sound, reflecting inspiration from late ’90s and early 2000s indie rock bands such as Built To Spill, The American Analog Set and The Wrens.

His debut album Cocoon (2023) was a sample-heavy, collage-like record, while later works such as 120 μs and Infinite Abundance leaned further into guitars and hazy atmospheres. Writing on Nina Protocol, J. Vienberg described Infinite Abundance as “a hazy collection of indie styles” and highlighted its opening track “Thank You So Much Universe” for directly invoking numerology and acknowledging the pathos of the record’s title. His latest release, the double single Getting by, In my head (2025), was praised by Nina’s editorial team as “languid and bittersweet dream pop.”

Alongside his solo work, Villa, Redhead has also released two collaborations: I Can’t Help It with Texas-born electronic folk artist Quiet Light, a groovy and trippy breakbeat, bedroom pop single, and a 13-minute track featuring ambient tape loops and noise samples with a spoken-word piece done by Zane Alexander S.B. Both projects show his openness to exploring different musical forms while maintaining a consistent artistic voice.

With the aim of keeping all of the esotericisms while making more and more palatable music on the verge of pop songs, Villa, Redhead continues to shape his own musical identity with no wish to conform to expectations.