Heurt blends emotion and innovation to take us on a journey with upcoming album, Not Alone.

By Graeme Smith

New to our blog, Heurt is the project of multi-instrumentalist LJ who works with live instruments and self-sampling vocals, foley and percussion to blend electronica, house, garage, ambient and neo-classical. I’m, of course, a fan of anything innovative and unconventional sound, so was immediately drawn to the project.

His upcoming album, Not Alone, brings together captured audio and a love of poetry and sci-fi film scores to take us on a wonderous journey that elevates the everyday into something fantastical. Our tentative few steps into its world takes the form of the ghostly vignette Arboretum which builds atmosphere before Waiting gives us an early, R&B-infused highlight thanks to its vocal textures and moody bass.

The drama continues to build through Friends and Eyes before Where Am I Going? lets it all go through a lively, rave-like number. Each track seamlessly flows into the next, making them each seem a part of a greater whole. It’s definitely an album that needs to be listened to from start to finish without interruption.

Glass Essay slows things down during a reflective moment before the hip-hop Rd livens things back up. Anything has a darkness about it that’s reminiscent of some of Crystal Castles’ work. Tulips and Bouquet are strikingly soul-searching. All I See builds things nicely to the story’s climax. Forest then closes the album in contemplative style.

Heurt is an act without parallel, but his new album did bring to mind one of my favourite records, Asa and Stumbleine’s sublime 2012 collaborative EP, Your Secret. Fans of the electronic and emotional will find a lot to love about what Heurt is doing.

Not Alone is set for release on 28 February 2025. You can pre-save it here.