Rotterdam-based Robin Kester’s music thrives in moments of quiet unease. Following her 2020 “mini album” ‘This Is Not A Democracy’, Kester was lauded for her stirring blend of chamber pop and psychedelia for her debut album ‘Honeycomb Shades’ (2023) which was named Dutch album of the year by newspapers NRC and de Volkskrant and nominated for the best Dutch album by 3voor12.

Now, Kester returns with second album ‘Dark Sky Reserve’ via Memphis Industries; a soundtrack to all the thoughts that bubble to the surface once the silence sinks in. ‘Dark Sky Reserve’ is Kester’s most artistically focused record to date, combining a rich, layered humanity in the music with minimalist lyricism. With the help of producer Ali Chant and a variety of other collaborators including Adrian Utley (Portishead) and Rozi Plain, Kester balances scenes of idyllic bliss from the “magical and strange” ‘Talybont-on-Usk’ with existential questions on ‘Departure’. Written in the nights of recording sessions in Bristol, ‘Dark Sky Reserve’ is the result of Kester writing from a place of newfound clarity: “I could see myself for who I am.”