Sofia Kourtesis – Madres (2xLP)

Madres is, unsurprisingly, dedicated to Kourtesis' mother. Even more surprising, however, is that it is also dedicated to world-renowned neurosurgeon Peter Vajkoczy. The story of how a world-renowned neurosurgeon came to appear in the liner notes of this album is one of persistence, miracles, all-consuming love and, ultimately, hope. When she began work on her debut, Kourtesis was seemingly unstoppable. A string of enthusiastically received EPs and singles made her one of the fastest rising stars in the electronic world and beyond. She had already graced the cover of Mixmag, released a brilliant, energetic and moving Resident Advisor "RA Session," appeared on the "End of Year" lists of The New York Times, Pitchfork, DJ Mag and Spotify (#6 Best Electronic Song), and immediately sold out first shows at London's Lafayette and Manchester's YES, as well as stellar performances at Glastonbury, Green Man, Wide Awake and Primavera, and tours supporting Caribou and Bicep.

In between touring and work, however, Kourtesis rushed to Peru at every opportunity to be with her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer a few months after the death of her father - the subject of Kourtesis' breakthrough single "La Perla" - and was rapidly deteriorating. "The doctors kept calling me to say goodbye to her for months," she recalls.

Refusing to lose hope, Kourtesis talked to all the doctors she could reach, and they all told her the chances were slim, that surgery was too risky. After reading about Vajkoczy but knowing he was incredibly in demand, she posted a music snippet on social media in desperation, promising to dedicate the piece to Vajkoczy if he had just a few minutes for her. Incredibly, he responded and agreed to meet. Vajkoczy agreed to the operation. The surgery was a success, and Kourtesi's mother's life is longer than anyone could have hoped.

Now that her mother is healthy and living near Berlin, Kourtesis has found her life again. Madres is the product of that life. Though it contains shades of the struggle of those years and her own journey of mental health, Madres is joyful, suffused with warm light, and full of "hope and the value that great love can create miracles." It's full of the little things in life that Kourtesis didn't have time or energy for: going out with friends, dating, dancing, eating, living. Vaikoczy became part of that world, an avid music fan himself, and became something of a sounding board for the album, and Kourtesis even took him on his first trip to Berghain.

Madres also contains everything that has already made Kourtesis so popular. The dual sounds of her native Peru and her adopted home of Berlin are present ("my heart is very Latin American, but my engine is German"), as is the activism for gender equality, queer protections, and access to safe abortions in Peru that is so close to her heart. Kourtesis, who herself left Peru because she was ostracized and eventually forced to undergo conversion therapy for her homosexuality, had not previously spoken about the real reason she left Peru, but now she hopes her music and words will resonate with others because her experiences are unfortunately still commonplace.