Arca & Jesse Kanda

Alejandro Ghersi's surrealist, sublimely eery production as Arca initially seemed confined to the outré electronic underground, until gigs assisting on albums by Bjork and Kanye in recent years lifted the bedroom producer to unanticipated fame. That rise continues with his most recent self-titled release, in which the producer proves he’s as much of a star as the big names that dot his résumé. Stepping out from behind the foggy veil of MIDI audio engines, Ghersi features his vocals front-and-center with unprecedented clarity. Fortunately, the pop-star shift makes no compromises on his singular production: tectonically fractured bass and subtly mutating, dusky atmosphere.