&&&&&

&&&&& is the debut mixtape by Venezuelan electronic producer Arca. It was released on 23 July 2013 through Hippos in Tanks and SoundCloud.[1][2] Even though 14 tracks are listed, the entire mixtape is in sequence as a single track.[3] A vinyl release of the mixtape with an alternative album cover was released on January 2014 and was limited to 500 copies.[4] On 28 July 2020, Arca announced a re-release of &&&&&, making the mixtape available on streaming platforms for the first time on 18 September 2020.

&&&&&
Mixtape by Arca
Released	July 23, 2013 (2013-07-23)
Genre	Experimental electronic hip hop dub ambient
Length	25:34
Label	Self-released Hippos in Tanks
Producer	Arca
Arca chronology
Stretch 2 (2012) &&&&& (2013) Xen (2014)
Singles from &&&&&
"Knot" Released: July 29, 2020

Composition

&&&&& is an experimental electronic record with influences of dub, hip-hop, grime and ambient music.[1][5] Stereogum described the record as "even darker and denser" than Arca's two previous Stretch EPs.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Tiny Mix Tapes	[1]
No Ripcord	8/10[7]

&&&&& received critical acclaim from music critics.[8] Tiny Mix Tapes says the mixtape "has the potential to conjure an emotional frenzy that’s alluring to the senses in a way that so much electronic artistry fails to even approach."[1] No Ripcord praised the mixtape for "its density, its intensity, its I'm-lost-in-a-big-city feel, its warm gust of beats blowing while the subway comes squeaking into the station, its darkness, its late-night ecstasy, its rawness, its rawness like raw milk, like drinking raw milk or eating sushi in an inexpensive restaurant somewhere on a street with trash and tweakers, its little motifs that twinkle like stars or Christmas lights, its muscular compactness."[7]

The album was eventually sent to Icelandic musician Björk’s management, leading to the two artists collaborating on her eighth studio album Vulnicura.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Arca.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Knot"	2:13
2.	"Harness"	1:53
3.	"Fossil"	1:50
4.	"Feminine"	0:35
5.	"Anaesthetic"	2:09
6.	"Coin"	2:15
7.	"Century"	1:15
8.	"Mother"	1:15
9.	"Hallucinogen"	2:06
10.	"Pinch"	1:37
11.	"DM True"	2:19
12.	"Waste"	2:34
13.	"Pure Anna"	0:47
14.	"Obelisk"	2:47
Total length:		25:34

Personnel

• Arca – production
• Jesse Kanda – artwork

References

1. "Arca – &&&&&". Tiny Mix Tapes.
2. "&&&&& on SoundCloud". Retrieved April 12, 2017.
3. "Download Arca's "&&&&&"". Complex. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
4. "Arca (4) – &&&&&". Discogs. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
5. Cliff, Aimee. "Arca – &&&&& [mixtape]". www.dummymag.com. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
6. "Download Arca &&&&&". Stereogum. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
7. Iovino, Michael (September 2, 2016). "Arca: &&&&& – Music Review – No Ripcord". No Ripcord.
8. Dazed (2014-03-18). "Arca and Jesse Kanda release nightmarish new video". Dazed. Retrieved 2017-04-13.

External links

• &&&&& at Discogs