Hues - Opaque White, Fana Hues, LP

When singer-songwriter Fana Hues was a child, illness took away her voice for almost five years. "I had scarlet fever, tonsillitis, and strep throat at the same time," recalls the 25-year-old from Pasadena, CA, about the years she spent yearning to sing-years her mother, a dancer and healer, spent concocting natural medicines and elixirs that would eventually restore her voice. A challenging and humbling experience, Fana's period of near voicelessness led her to appreciate the power of healing, and to realize her purpose as a musician at a young age. The sonically-sprawling collection of tracks weaves moody trances with funky bass lines and delicate strings, landing cohesively as a thorough reflection on the complexity of human emotion. "I thought it was super important for me as a black woman to be open about that because so many times I feel like I'm not allowed to express my emotions." In Fana's words, "I'm kind of all over the place, but there's always a method to the madness; it's all centered; it all has a purpose."