Listen to Four (!) New Arca Albums

Update, Dec. 3: As if Arca’s KICK albums weren’t already ambitious and surprising enough, she surprise-released a fifth and final LP in the series on Friday, kiCK iiiii. You can listen to it right here.

Original Story: Arca has completed her KICK album series in dramatic fashion, following 2020’s acclaimed KiCk i with this week’s trio of KICK ii, KicK iii and kick iiii. The Venezuelan artist announced her new LPs in October and November, setting all three for release on Dec. 3 via XL Recordings—instead, they quietly rolled out ahead of schedule, streaming on Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and today, Dec. 2.

A press release lays out the arc of the ambitious series as follows:

If KiCk i is a multidimensional self-portrait that held all of Arca’s many mutations, KICK ii sees her deconstruct reggaeton rhythms she grew up listening to in Caracas, balancing structure and chaos to create her most accessible work yet, without sacrificing any of her uncompromising experimentation; the rising cycle. KicK iii sees her returning to the club nights that shaped her early adult-hood where Arca was born: the surrealist DJ, warping dance music structures to fit her singular vision—relentless rhythms to drive listeners into uncharted states of euphoria, anthems for the basement-dark queer clubs of our cyberpunk near-future; the climax of the cycle. With kick iiii, the cycle resolves, and a new species of xenopop emerges, sensual and serene.