Jesse Kanda is primarily known as a visual artist, having helped create unique visual universes that musicians including Arca, Björk, and FKA twigs have all inhabited. Last year, however, he revealed to Dazed that he had music of his own forthcoming – and today he’s released his first EP.

In a statement, Kanda describes the EP – titled heart and released under the name ‘doon kanda’ – as “coated with a layer of sharp pain like a blade to the eye or ears. but at the heart of it is always love, compassion, empathy.” He continues that “this coating is created to protect itself, like the walls of a womb, or armor. the same way that what’s within us can protect itself and can be hard to crack. it’s kinda in my nature to always try and turn this stuff inside out and expose it.” (sic)

The heart EP is out today via Hyperdub, best known for releasing music by Burial, Kode9, and Zomby. Listen to below, and read on for Kanda’s full statement.

Statement from Jesse Kanda

ok here is my humble attempt to try and put these songs in context .. to reflect and describe what they mean to me:

axolotl is like a chant for giving it your best try
womb is maybe like the moment you’re out and you hear the world unmuffled
wings is like a conversation .. maybe with yourself, maybe between two aspects of you, or with another spirit
feline is sensual like a courtship
heart is losing someone you love and your self

and on the sound of these melodies:

my work might sometimes be coated with a layer of sharp pain like a blade to the eye or ears. but at the heart of it is always love, compassion, empathy.
I think this coating is created to protect itself, like the walls of a womb, or armor. the same way that what’s within us can protect itself and can be hard to crack. it’s kinda in my nature to always try and turn this stuff inside out and expose it.
each of the songs on this ep have this quality. the melodies are treated to cut you like a serrated knife.
but hopefully they are beautiful enough that you’d want to listen anyway.
thank you