LUWTEN Delivers the EP We Didn't Know We Needed: "Door"

To say that a lot has changed in the past six months would be a complete understatement. In fact, we’ve all been subjected to constant change, with something new seeming to occur each month. 

For Dutch indie-pop songstress LUWTEN, channeling that change into song has become a source of comfort. A self-described perfectionist, her latest EP, “Door,” sees the work of an artist who is coming to terms with the notion that everything is ever-changing and, at times, out of our control. That doesn’t mean we still can’t have control. LUWTEN -- real name Tessa Douwstra -- knows that: just look at track two.

But “Door” isn’t just about asserting our control in the midst of change; it’s also about striking the balance between necessary companionship and necessary solitude. It's a challenge that the world of today is suddenly coping with on a massive scale. Though the balance between spending time alone and with others is ever-changing, Douwstra finds solace in small, bemused observations she can clutchonto like cherished mementos. This becomes apparent in literal mementos that she uses, such as her grandmother’s old tape recorder on opening track “Don’t Be a Stranger.”

Luwten's songs evoke the feeling of an unspoken understanding with someone very close to you: to instinctively know when things can remain unresolved, when they can't and when it’s okay to let the noise of the world run its course. The production -- involving a mix of artificial sounds with organic instrumentation, samples and field recordings -- amalgamates to become both stunningly eerie and bombastic, yet the aforementioned feeling of intimacy is still present. 

2020 is a mess. Thank God for music, and thank God especially for LUWTEN.