" Sound Me fully embodies the ambiance and a sense of dualism captured between a dark past giving way to a brighter future. Inspired by the struggle of living day-to-day in working class Poland, Aani spins her lyricism into an art that paints a picture of love lost searching for a genuine connection, in a world that seems to have long forgotten the almost reminiscent old school values embedded in the unique style delivered by Sound Me," WeGrowWax wrote within a self-contained press release shared on Polish Trip-Hoppers Sound Me's mysteriously sparse Bandcamp page. Upon a first listen to Sound Me's snippet-laced "Growing" (Album Promo Mix), my well-trained ear immediately sensed notes of Amy Winehouse backed by Jurassic 5 in-house DJ's Cut Chemist and DJ Nu-Mark, as well as skilled songstresses Joss Stone, Macy Grey, and jj frontwoman Elin Kastlander—all of course, backed by Mayer Hawthorne-esque trumpet work. "[ Sound Me is] a perfect concoction of heavy-hitting drum breaks, dubby instrumentation, angelic vocals... deep and moody soundscapes laced with dark, hypnotic beats, and powerful vocals remind us of Massive Attack, but bringing a new flavour [to 1990's] Trip-Hop."


Primary vocalist and song-writer Aani formed Sound Me along with beatsmith DJ Mr. K and trumpet player Przemysław Klisik (whose name I'm not even going to begin to try to pronounce) around September 2012, after which they quietly released Growing pre-singles "Heart's Tale" and "Inside" during April-May 2014, nearly two years before any further signs of said attached album. While Sound Me's 12-track Growing has now been previewed within a sprawling nearly 6-minute "Album Promo Mix," two of which—lead single "Heart's Tale" and "High Heels"—have received equally head (and record)-scratching and deeply evocative, European-tinged LemonSniff-directed visual treatments; Growing is currently available for pre-order ahead of its soon forthcoming August 19th world-wide release, after which CD orders are scheduled to ship within a matter of five days. For those who favor digital mediums, WeGrowWax additionally estimates that Growing will become available digitally sometime around September 2016. Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky-loving (aging) Trip-Hoppers assemble!!!