Kučka

Australian producer Laura Jane Lowther, better known as KUČKA, writes surreal, experimental pop songs consisting of layers of glitchy textures, found sounds, delicate beats, and ethereal vocals. Her releases, such as 2015 EP Unconditional, have been met with acclaim, and she’s won several awards in her home country. Additionally, she’s worked with artists such as A$AP Rocky, Flume, and SOPHIE.
Her self-titled debut EP, recorded in her bedroom studio in Perth, appeared in 2012. The experimental electro-pop sound of songs such as “Divinity” received praise, which led to the EP’s re-release on New Weird Australia’s label Wood and Wire. Another song from the EP, “Polly (serialkillersundays)” won a West Australian Music Song of the Year Award in the Experimental category. The following year, she released the single “Phantasy” and collaborated with A$AP Rocky, who sampled her song “I” on the title track of his debut album Long.Live.A$AP and invited her to sing backing vocals on that song and another track on the album, “Fashion Killer.” She also won that year’s Path to Laneway competition, which earned her a gig performing at the Laneway Festival. In 2014, she released the single “Unconditional,” which earned Lowther five WAM Award nominations and wins in the Best Single, Best Experimental Act, and Best Electronic Act categories.
The Unconditional EP arrived in 2015, garnering KUČKA more praise as well as more awards: Along with WAM Awards for Best Electronic Producer and Best Experimental Act, she was also invited to the Red Bull Music Academy. That year, she also collaborated with Cosmo’s Midnight on the single “Walk with Me” and appeared on songs by Seth Sentry, Andre Eremin, and Simo Soo. In 2016, Lowther issued another single from Unconditional, “Honey,” and worked with Paces on the track “Nothing’s Forever” and on Flume’s album Skin. She appeared on Vince Staples’ 2017 full-length Big Fish Theory and continued working with Flume, guesting on “Voices” (a collaboration with SOPHIE), released on the 2019 mixtape Hi This Is Flume. Solo single “Drowning” appeared later in the year. ~ Heather Phares