Browsing Tag

chillwave

Catherine Duc serves synth-crafted ambient nostalgia with, ‘Remember When…’, featuring Jonas Isacsson.

Posted on 16 July 2021

For her latest release, ‘Remember When…’, GRAMMY-nominated composer, multi-instrumentalist and remixer, Catherine Duc, teamed up with guitarist Jonas Isacsson to create a synth-crafted ambient nostalgia hit that will allow you to drift back to the 80s via the soaring guitars and delicately arranged glassy synths.

So far in her career, Catherine Duc has received a GRAMMY award nomination for Best New Age album in 2016, scooped the award for instrumental artist of the year during the Los Angeles Music Awards in 2006, and remixed for the likes of the Corrs and XYLO.

With her intrinsically connectable sound and the emotions she’s able to evoke through instrumentals alone, we’re sure that the accolades won’t end there.

Remember When… is now available to stream via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London electro-pop duo ColourTelly released the most relatable single of the year with ‘Paranoid’.

Posted on 4 May 2021
ColourTelly

For their latest single, London-based electro-pop duo ColourTelly explored paranoia in the age of disinformation, as the soft jazzy hip hop tones gently resound, hushed vocals quiescently relay observations of disillusion and distrust. The succinct poise of the vocals in Paranoid allows the message to hit even harder than it would if the lyrics were forcible. You can sense the frustration and exhaustion which manifests when exposed to such relentless pedantic conflict.

Speaking as someone who has heard their fair share of ‘lockdown inspired’ singles, Paranoid is easily amongst the most profound and provoking. Here’s what ColourTelly have to say about the single;

“The lyrics bemoan the confusion of the Covid age. An age where through lack of clear leadership and infinite sources of conflicting information, rational thinking has, in the minds of many, given way to fear. The song asks simply whether in the face of adversity humanity is capable of composure or whether as a species we are too anxious and reactionary to forgo panic buying and other such self serving activities. Is it really the virus we are afraid of or ourselves?”

Paranoid officially released on April 24th. You can check it out for yourselves via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

The Mermaids have made their sensual synthwave debut with ‘L’auntre’.

Posted on 25 April 2021

Stockholm’s indie synth-pop outfit The Mermaids have made their debut with the atmospherically sensual bi-lingual track, ‘L’auntre’. Any fans of the Midnight, Gunship, Wolf Club, St. Vincent or any other act experimenting with retro-inspired chillwave tones will want to delve into the ambience of the polyphonically immersive single.

With the glassy notes brushing up against the moody pulsating throbs of the bassline in the unapologetically 80s-inspired mix, L’auntre is contemporary as synthwave gets, which undoubtedly puts The Mermaids in good stead for success in the future. You’ll want them on your radar with chilled summer nights being not too far in the distance.

L’auntre is now available to stream via Spotify.

Connect with the Mermaids via Facebook. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ricky Akira transcends the notion of genres with his authentically amorous latest single

Posted on 15 October 2020
https://soundcloud.com/rickyakira/donnie-we-will-be-stars

London-based artist and producer Ricky Akira’s latest single “Donnie We Will Be Stars” proves that the concept of genres is pretty much outdated. Instead of trying to find their own sound within a pre-existing one, Ricky Akira went all-out with the authenticity in this endearingly masterful release which your soul won’t fail to recognise.

With playful polyphonic tones contorted into tranquil and cathartic rhythms, the instrumentals will make sure that you’re hooked into the progressions. While Ricky Akira and their female guest vocalist will run you through a sticky-sweet tale of romanticism and ambition.

The ‘cute factor’ may be high with this release, but Ricky Akira’s sound is anything but novelty, it’s a sure sign of amazing things to come for the charismatically magnetic artist. Watch this space.

You can check out Donnie We Will Be Stars for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slip into David Taylor’s transcendently light mix “hours”

Posted on 24 August 2020

Australian Electronica artist and producer David Taylor has recently released their distinctively sweet Lo-Fi Chill EP 050392. The perfect introduction to their catharsis-spilling sound is “hours”.

The hazily blissful track which comes with slight Chill Hop nuances may not easily squeeze into any constrained branch of Electronica, but it does ooze potent and organic good vibes. With the warm tones and the transcendently light textures, hours is an incredibly easy track to slip into and get pulled along by the seamless reverb-soaked progressions.

It’s not every day we can say the Electronica we hear serves up plenty of soul, but discernibly, David Taylor isn’t your average producer. After hearing their latest release, we’re stoked to hear where their sound which drips with commercial potential takes them next.

You can check out David Taylor’s EP 050392 for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jungle.wav – Old School analogue ambience with “Jai Guru Deva”

Posted on 21 August 2020

The video to Jungle.wav’s single ‘Jai Guru Deva’ is roughly 100 seconds of dreamy, escapist visions of mountains and alpine forest, all lo-fi shakiness on old-school cine-8.

That’s pretty much the music, too; dreamy, escapist, and low tempo. Sweeping old-school electronica mixes lo-fi beats, soothing chillwave and half-spoken mellow vocals; it’s trancey and reverb-soaked, chilled and psychedelic. Yes, there’s an obvious Eno-like reference in its ambience, but there’s elements of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Youssou N’Dour mixed in with the chiming strings and sweeping, old-school analogue synth. Behind the whispered vocal sit lo-fi, Moog and ARP sounds, and then, all too soon, it’s over.

You can hear ‘Jai Guru Deva’ on YouTube, and find more from Jungle.wav here.

Review by Alex Holmes

KiDD RicH sets a hazy lustful scene in their latest release “2am”

Posted on 20 August 2020

There’s been plenty of hype around breaking Hip Hop artist KiDD RicH since they made their debut with the single “Comfortable” in 2019. On the heels of their successful singles, they’ve dropped their debut album “The Statement, Vol. 1”.

The track which especially caught our attention with its hazy indulgent tones was 2am, a tale of nocturnal lust which won’t fail to instil the amorous vibes. The lust is inscribed in the sultry, light and melodic Indie Trap beats. They’re also found within KiDD RicH’s soft and mellifluous vocals which project plenty of emotion into the track as they verse the deeply introspective lyrics.

From the first verse, you’re immersed in the scene which KiDD RicH sets with the warm summer tones. You practically feel an increase in the temperature when you hit play.

You can check out 2am along with the rest of KiDD RicH’s debut album for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zach Kenney – Don’t Forget Me: Ambiently Compelling Electronica

Posted on 16 July 2020

Up and coming Electronic artist and producer Zach Kenney has recently released their debut album Misplaced Thoughts, a collection of stunningly immersive soundscapes which allow you to explore the artist’s expression, your own mental frequencies and the resonance in between.

We’ve all had a little more rumination time than usual recently, Misplaced Thoughts is the perfect soundtrack for those quiet and complacent moments. While each track is a pleasure to get lost in, the best introduction to Zach Kenney’s sound is “Don’t Forget Me”.

Whether it was the title of the instrumental soundscape or the all too potent morose sting of the ambient and almost hopeful electronic notes, Don’t Forget Me ironically became an unforgettable aural experience. Ambient hits of catharsis don’t come much sweeter than what you will find in Don’t Forget Me.

You can check out Zach Kenney’s single Don’t Forget Me along with the rest of their album via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Wanderings – The Light Inside: Tension-Stripping Ambient Electronica

Posted on 10 December 2019
The Light Inside / Burden by Wanderings

South-London based Ambient Electronica artist Wanderings has recently made their debut with the tension-stripping serene single “The Light Inside”.

There may be a quietude to the single, but there’s also a striking amount of passion-driven momentum which resonates between the spaces of the looped piano notes, gentle effervescent guitars and hazy electronic effects. Each seamless burst of sound is delivered with deft execution.

The Light Inside transcends cathartic aural escapism and encompasses true ambient ingenuity in a way which demonstrates Wanderings’ deep understanding of how to appeal to the human psyche.

You can stream and download The Light Inside for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp now. Make sure to follow the page as Wanderings’ debut album is set to be released in early 2020.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

small disco – C R W L N G: The Lucid Catharsis of Chillwave DIY Pop

Posted on 14 October 2018
floralscent by small disco

“C R W L N G” is the latest single from Portsmouth, Ohio-based duo small disco. Their ambiently lucid mixes provide a refreshing soundscape of Glitch and Grime seamlessly weaved together. There is plenty of intricacy within the synthesised melodies, yet the heavy reverb dampens the drum machines glitchy kicks to provide a soundscape which you can’t help but be arrested by.  Usually, when it comes to DIY music, the lo fi production hinders the sound, yet small disco have proven that they have no problem producing fluidly resonant beats after composing prodigally experimental soundscapes.  Their expressive style wouldn’t be complete without the melodic vocals, whilst there is an unholy amount of reverb added to them, the talent behind vocalist Cassy Parker’s is still more than palpable.

You can check out C R W L N G from the “floralscent” album for yourselves by heading over to Bandcamp now.

Follow small disco on Facebook to keep up to date with their latest releases and tour dates.

Review by Amelia Vandergast