Rui Ho will release her debut album, Lov3 & L1ght, on Planet Mu.

Lov3 & L1ght follows two releases on Planet Mu sub-label Objects Limited, and her first release, 2016’s Ru Meng Ling, on Chinese label Genome 6.66Mbp. It continues with the theme of growth, fusing Chinese melodies with energetic European club music.

The album is also the first time that the Chinese producer, also known as DJ Ruan, has featured her own vocals on her work. She uses them as the basis for a “deeply personal account of finding love” as a trans person and an immigrant now living in Berlin, Germany.

“I have always been interested in singing but my voice has been a huge obstacle for me since I always wanted a high-pitched female voice instead of a deep, low male voice,” Ho explains. “Vocal feminisation during my transition has been a huge inspiration and it’s a hidden theme of the album, too. I hope to learn to love my own voice and be able to find ways to express myself with the voice that I have, without having to fear it. It’s a process of self love, I guess.”

Across the album, Rui Ho pulls from rave, ambient, reggaeton, and R&B, all with an undercurrent of Chinese melody and arranged neatly to give space to her auto-tuned vocals. “The brash surfaces lightly camouflage a strong talent for arrangement and melody that give the record an uplifting freshness,” the label explains.

Tracklisting

01. Hikari
02. Exodus ’12
03. The Way I Am
04. Right Now
05. Lucky Strike
06. Send For Me
07. Hundred Thousand Ways
08. Fire Walk With Me
09. Leave feat. Golin
10. Tired Of Me

Lov3 & L1ght LP is available digitally on September 4. Meanwhile, you can pre-order here and stream “Exodus ’12” below.