Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Cancer unites followers of goth, shoegaze, techno, and minimal wave by channeling elements from each scene into one distinctive aesthetic. Camella Lobo and her partner Juan Mendez—who records techno as Silent Servant—launched the project in 2007. Their debut single, “The Dull Age,” issued on the British imprint Downwards in 2009, caught listeners off guard. Departing from the grinding industrial techno that had defined the label since the mid-’90s, the track combined reverb-soaked beats, dreamy synth layers, and restrained vocals. After a series of live performances, the pair returned in 2011 with the Downwards single “Be Brave,” which was soon followed by the EP The Sorrow of Two Blooms on London’s Blackest Ever Black. Mendez then stepped away to concentrate on his solo work and his involvement with the Sandwell District collective, leaving Lobo in sole artistic command. Her initial solo Tropic of Cancer release arrived in 2012 as the Mannequin single “Permissions of Love.” Later that year came “I Feel Nothing,” and by mid-2013 she had confirmed plans for a debut album on Blackest Ever Black, introduced by the limited-edition 7-inch “More Alone.”