REVIEW: Kelly Lee Owens- 'Dreamstate'

Written for DJ Mag [18/11/24]

‘Dreamstate’ is an apt title for Kelly Lee Owens’ fourth album. The Welsh musician, producer and DJ’s music has an ethereal quality to it. That feeling was most distilled on her 2017 debut, parts of which recalled Grimes’ early, otherworldly work. 

Owens is a self-professed daydreamer (she quit a nursing career to pursue her dreams of making music). But the spectral synths and soft falsettos associated with an ethereal sound have been weighted by Owens’ techno thuds, connecting the highs with mechanical, grounded lows. 

‘Dreamstate’ practises those patterns and is a lighter, more joyful affair than Owens’ previous albums. From the trance-indebted ‘Rise’ (co-written by Bicep) to the ’90s post-rave breakbeat of ‘Time To’ and the euphoric floorfiller ‘Love You Got’, ‘Dreamstate’ is a record to soundtrack whatever makes you feel good. And if that’s following your dreams, even better.