Watch: A K U A – “All Of Lust” (Yours Truly Session) [Premiere]

Montreal producer/vocalist A K U A dropped her debut EP One’s Company smack in the middle of 2013; continuing her hometown’s rich vein of bedroom sugar-pop, and quickly sealing a place in this writer’s Ones-to-Watch.

A slot on hipster-pop darling-of-the-moment Solange’s tour – first as opener, then backing vocalist – followed, propelling her further into the limelight; but there’s no doubt this girl belongs centre stage.

Ahead of her first appearance at SXSW this Thursday (Maggie Mae’s Rooftop, 8pm), A K U A and our friends at Yours Truly have aired a lush session performance, filmed at Pop Montreal last year. The soulful songstress debuts previously unrecorded track, “All Of Lust” and, as to be expected, it’s a burnished gem; all tender, floating vocals, wispy synthesizers and honey-coated beats.

For a song about viewing Thailand through a red-blooded male tourist’s eyes, it’s imbued with a certain mesmerising gentleness. Put plainly: A K U A could chime about football stadium hot dogs and still make it sound like a vital torch-song.