Alina Baraz and Galimatias
Urban Flora (Ultra/Mom + Pop)
Sultry, jazzy alt-pop artist Samantha Leah told us about her love for an Alina Baraz/Galimatias gem.
Samantha Leah: It’s such a tough question to answer, “what’s my favorite album,” but I have to go with Urban Flora by Alina Baraz and Galimatias. I found this magical album (well, EP) in the summer of 2016. I was living in New Jersey, when my sister got a message from a guy she met at a seasonal job the year prior. He asked her if she knew anyone that would be willing to move to San Francisco during the summer and cat-sit while he traveled for a few months. I jumped at the opportunity.
So, there I was, newly moved to a city I had visited a few times. I already loved San Francisco, but now I got to totally immerse myself in it. It ended up being one of the greatest summers of my life. That’s when Urban Flora found me. I was immediately entranced by the hypnotic music and Alina’s lyrics and vocals. I remember listening to it over… and over… and over again - something I don’t usually do with albums because I get too excited to move onto a new body of work.
Still to this day, when I listen to this album, I feel like I’m transported into a different dimension. It’s like its own liminal space where gravity doesn’t exist and I’m just floating. It’s beautiful.
Nothing, and I mean nothing, has ever made me feel that way before or since. I truly feel that Galimatias and Alina Baraz came together in the most perfect synergistic way. The kind of collaboration the universe only allows once in a blue moon.
Samantha Leah's "Acrobat" is out now.
