It seems almost impossible to get any information about Empress Of, which is kind of ridiculous because despite her aloof approach to PR she is screaming for some cross-over success. With slinky indie sass meets snappy synth pop melodies it's hard to figure how you could not love every one of the handful of tracks Lorely Rodriguez has put out as Empress Of.
Rodriguez is Brooklyn based and appears to divide her singing between English and Spanish, with her Systems EP featuring two tracks in each language. That EP is good - Hat Trick being a particular highlight. But the track that has me most excited and caught my attention in the first place is the the single she released towards the end of last year, Realize You. There's a high-art angle to all of this - a sort of synesthesia that comes from Rodriguez's experiments with colour, as explained on Dazed Digital last year when they interviewed her.
Realize You is a beautifully slinky yet stumbling and obsessive record. Soft bubbling electronic melodies and those gorgeous slightly Germanic, slightly techno drums. It is Rodriguez's vocals that steal the show though, her obsession shining through, scary yet alluring: I want to be your boyfriend / and I want to be your girlfriend / and I want to take you there / and I want to watch you do it.
Check out Hat Trick below:
There is also quite a bit more on the Empress Of Soundcloud page and a rather surreal video for Champagne:
