MiNNETONKA is something of an enigma, but Getintothis’ Mike Townsend sees the Manchester singer stepping out of the shadows if these tracks are anything to go by.
When Emma Leatherbarrow chose to name her project MiNNETONKA, it was probably to try and prevent people like us from writing pieces like this.
Put it this way, after two hours of research, you could ask us almost anything on the suburban Minnesotan city by the same name, or even about the Minnetonka Moccasin shoe made popular in post-war America. We had a right old time trying to put two sentences together about the profile of this Manchester singer, however.
Or maybe she just hasn’t got around to it yet. Either way, the three songs on her Soundcloud speak loudly enough on their own.
Desert Days is a dreamy number, reflecting that kind of serene tiredness you get after spending all day in the sun. Bird of Prey is similar in conception but different in results, using some interesting synth and percussion as the atmosphere alternates between warm and unnerving.
These songs are disconcertingly interior as if you are eavesdropping on something quite private, thanks largely the slow harmonic motion. The layering is precise and patient; as the parts are given the time and space to fill your mind naturally like water finding its way across an undulating surface.
MiNNETONKA’s appeal is largely in her stark, scintillating contrasts. That jarring synth in the middle of Bird of Prey, those rolling hi-hats towards the end of To Be Just Where You Are; all evidence of an artist not comfortable being played in the background.
Having collaborated on new work with GIT Award 2013 nominees By The Sea and Bill Ryder-Jones, MiNNETONKA is currently working on an official release of her own, expect something special.
Further reading on Getintothis:
- Ex-Emeralds man Mark McGuire readies Along The Way
