Category: Synth Pop

Indie Electro Pop by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Amsterdam’s Altin Gün Releases a Cinematic and Feverish Visual for “Ordunun Dereleri”

Deriving their name from the Turkish phase for “Golden Day,” the Amsterdam-based Turkish psych pop act Altin Gün — founding member founding member Jasper Verhulst (bass) with Ben Rider (guitar), Erdinç Ecevit Yildiz (keys, saz, vocals), Gino Groneveld (percussion), Merve Dasdemir (vocals) and Nic Mauskovic (drums) — can trace their origins to Japser Verhulst’s deep and abiding passion for 60s and 70s Turkish psych pop and folk and to frequent tour stops in Istanbul with a previous band.

As a result of his tour stops in Istanbul, Verhulst wound up discovering a lot of music that wasn’t readily available in his homeland. But as the story goes, he wasn’t just content to listen as an ardent fan, he had a vision of where he could potentially take the sound he loved. “We do have a weak spot for the music of the late ’60s and ’70s,” Verhulst admitted in press notes. “With all the instruments and effects that arrived then, it was an exciting time. Everything was new, and it still feels fresh. We’re not trying to copy it, but these are the sounds we like and we’re trying to make them our own.” The Dutch act actively interpret and reimagine this beloved material through a contemporary 21st century lens. “Of course, since our singers are Turkish, they know many of these pieces. All this is part of the country’s musical past, their heritage, like ‘House of The Rising Sun’ is in America,‘” Verhulst explains.

The act’s sophomore album, last year’s Grammy Award-nominated, critically applauded Gece helped the Amsterdam-based act win further worldwide acclaim for their reimagining of traditional Turkish folk through the lens of psych rock and pop. The band’s highly-anticipated third album Yol, the third album from the Dutch act in three years, finds the act continuing to draw upon the rich and diverse traditions of Turkish and Anatolian folk music. But as a result of pandemic-related restrictions and lockdowns, the members of the Dutch act was forced to write music in a new way: they traded demos and ideas built around Omnichord, 808 and other elements, including field recordings and New Age-like ideas by email.

“We were basically stuck at home for three months making home demos, with everybody adding their parts,” Altin Gün’s Merve Dasdemir says in press notes. “The transnational feeling maybe comes from that process of swapping demos over the internet, some of the music we did in the studio, but lockdown meant we had to follow a different approach.”

As a result of arrangements featuring Omnichord and 808 — and the new songwriting approach, the album finds the band crafting material that’s a bold, new sonic direction: a sleek, synth-based Europop sound with a dreamy quality that may have been informed by the enforced period of reflection. Additionally, Yol finds the members of Altin Gün enlisting Ghent, Belgium-based production duo Asa Moto — Oliver Geerts and Gilles Noë — to co-produce and mix the album, marking the first time that the band has collaborated with outsiders.

“Ordunun Dereleri,” Yol’s mesmerizing first single finds the Dutch act pairing an old folk standard with an arrangement centered around atmospheric and glistening synth arpeggios, four-on-the-floor drumming paired with Mediterranean-like polyrhythmic percussion, shimmering bursts of guitar, a sinuous, motorik groove and plaintive vocals. And while, being a sleek and futuristic push in a new sonic direction, the track finds the band balancing careful and deliberate attention to craft with a dreamy introspection.

Directed by Bob Sizoo and Najim Jansen, the recently released visual for “Ordunun Dereleri” is an incredibly cinematic fever dream that follows the Dutch act’s Erdinç Ecevit Yildiz driving a white BMW through a sodium and fluorescent-lit cityscape and into an eerie forest where he encounters the rest of the band. Even stranger things occur.

Yol is slated for a February 26, 2021 release through ATO Records/Cadence Music Group.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Tame Impala Releases a Lysergic and Feverish Visual for “Breathe Deeper”

Over this site’s decade-plus history, I’ve managed to spill quite of virtual ink covering Perth, Australia-born and-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and JOVM mainstay Kevin Parker, best known as the creative mastermind behind the multiple Grammy Award-nominated, critically applauded and commercially successful psych pop/synth pop at Tame Impala.

Parker’s fourth Tame Impala effort, The Slow Rush was released earlier this year, and the album continues an impressive and downright enviable run of critically applauded and commercially successful material. But thematically the album focuses on the rapid passing of time and life’s infinite cycles of creation and destruction — with the material conjuring the feeling of a lifetime in a lighting bolt, and of major milestones and events whizzing by you, while you stare at your phone. “A lot of the songs carry this idea of time passing, of seeing your life flash before your eyes, being able to see clearly your life from this point onwards. I’m being swept by this notion of time passing. There’s something really intoxicating about it,” Parker told the New York Times.

So far I’ve written about five of The Slow Rush’s singles:

“Patience,”an upbeat meditation on the cycles and phases of life, centered around a sound that seamlessly meshed 70s funk and 90s house.
“Borderline,” a hook-driven, blissed out track with house music flourishes.
“It Might Be Time,”a swaggering prog rock meets psych pop anthem featuring shimmering synth arpeggios, thumping beats and an enormous hook.
Lost in Yesterday,” a woozy and lysergic, disco-tinged banger that explores time’s distorting effect on perspective and memories
“Is It True,”a swooning, dance floor friendly banger that focuses on the countless paths our lives can take with just one single decision — and the confusion and uncertainty of love.

2020 has managed to be a momentous year for the Aussie JOVM mainstay in terms of accolades:

Earlier this year, Parker was nominated for two Billboard Music Awards and an American Music Award.
Last month, Tame Impala won 5 of the 7 categories he was nominated for at this year’s ARIA Awards: Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album, Best Engineer and Best Producer.
Parker recently received nominations for two Grammy Awards — Best Alternative Album and Best Rock Song for “Lost In Yesterday.” The latest Best Alternative Album Grammy is Parker’s third, after receiving nominations for Currents and Lonerism.

And to cap off a busy year, Parker has released the sixth single off The Slow Rush, “Breathe Deeper,” a woozy pop banger, centered around shimmering synths, twinkling keys, skittering beats, and a sinuous bass line and Parker’s plaintive cooing. And much like its immediate predecessors, “Breathe Deeper” finds Parker crafting a hook-driven and seamless synthesis of synth pop, psych pop, house music and Quiet Storm soul.

Directed by Butt Studio, the recently released video is a lysergic fever dream that follows two brightly colored, CGI mosquitos flying through an otherworldly landscape.


Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Cambodian-French Producer Sandap Releases a Slow-Burning New Single

Sandap is an emerging Cambodian-born, Paris-based composer, producer and electronic music artist. He was adopted at a very young age and wound up living in Paris. By the time he turned five, the Cambodian-born, Paris-based composer, producer and electronic music artist leaned violin before switching to piano, which would become his primary instrument.

Around the time, Sandap turned 11, he was introduced to composition and songwriting. And after working on material under a number of pseudonyms, he decided to release material under his own name. Sandap’s work draws from his own travels and personal experiences, as well as from the two vastly different cultures he has grown up in.

He released his first single “Rina” in 2018 and began to develop a fanbase. His latest single, “When I see us” is a slow-burning and atmospheric track centered around skittering beats, shimmering synth arpeggios, twinkling keys and layers of distorted yet plaintive vocals. While bearing a subtle resemblance to Octo Octa’s Between Both Sides, the song evokes an aching longing for a romantic relationship and for home.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New VIdeo: French Electro Pop Act DamDam Paname Releases a Surreal Visual for Glitchy “Seduire”

Over the course of a handful of releases, the French duo DamDam Paname — Dames and Vladimir — have developed and honed a unique sound and approach on electro pop. The act’s latest single “Seduire” continues a run of forward-thinking material: Centered around an expansive, mind-bending song structure, skittering trap beats, wobbling and shimmering synth arpeggios, reverb-drenched horn samples and lyrics sung in sultry, come-hither French, “Seduire” manages to remind me a bit of JOVM mainstays Beacon, who also specialize in a heady and deeply personal take on electro pop.

Directed by M&L Project, the recently released video features the French electro duo in the middle of mundane errands — washing clothes and ironing, before being thrown into a neon-colored Dr. Seuss-like world of purple and green trees and impossibly bright sunlight. Our protagonists are initially a bit frightened by the members of the dance collective, Human dressed up as a fantastic creatures but as the video progresses they increasingly join in on the mischief — before ending in a shocking yet gorgeous fashion.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Follow Mera Bhai on a Surreal Day-in-the-Life Journey

Karthik Poduval is a London-born, Indian-British DJ and producer, and founder of the acclaimed tropical psych rock/psych pop act Flamingods. Poduval’s solo recording project Mera Bhai derives its name from the affectionate Hindi greeting, which translates into “my brother.” The project is informed by Poduval’s experiences as a global citizen: he has lived in Italy, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Nigeria and of course, the UK — and naturally, that has deeply informed his own globe-trotting, border-crossing, genre-defying take on dance music, which incorporates elements of Indian Carnatic, Arabic Rai, 70s disco, acid house, Detroit echo and Tropicalila. “Having grown up all over the world, I was surrounded by a wealth of different sounds — I’m just trying to weave the cultural through line that I hear in music,” Poduval says.

Poduval’s Mera Bhai debut Futureproofing EP was released earlier this year through Moshi Moshi Records, and if you’ve been frequenting this site this year, you may recall that I’ve written about two of the EP’s singles:

A bootleg remix of Ahmed Fakroun‘s “Jama El F’na,” which retained the shimming instrumentation of the original and Fakroun’s vocals while pairing them with a Tour de France-era Kraftwerk/Primal Scream/Kasabian-like production, featuring layers of arpeggiated synths, tweeter and woofer rocking boom bap beats and industrial clatter. The original is a club banger — but the remix manages to sound as thought it comes from some mixtape that someone brought back from 2038.
“Mañana Groove,” a summery, club anthem centered around an expansive and mind-bending structure that featured shimmering synth arpeggios, hot hi-hat flashes, stuttering tweeter and woofer rocking beats paired with vocodered vocals and samples from a Mr. Bongo Records reissue of Cissé Abdoulaye’s “A Son Magni.” And while to my ears, the song sounds as though it one part Kraftwerk, one part Evil Heat-era Primal Scream and one part deep house, the song as Poduval explains was inspired by Todd Terje‘s “Inspector Norse” while also nodding at 808 State’s “Pacific State,” one of Poduval’s favorite anthems, “which frames summertime feels for me.” And as a result of its summery air, the track at its core, possesses a carefree “let’s worry about it all tomorrow” vibe.

The EP’s latest single, is EP title track “Futureproofing.” The track is a hypnotic, club anthem centered around an insistent, motorik-groove, stuttering four on the floor, shimmering synth arpeggios and trippy instrumental breaks featuring fluttering flute and twinkling sitar. Sonically, the track further establishes Poduval’s hypnotic, globalist and multicultural take on dance music — all while pushing electronic dance music towards a bright and inclusive future.

\“In spirit, the track is about trying to find a balance between the push and pull of life’s responsibilities,” Poduval explains. “I wrote it when I was in India on my escape from the UK and trying to balance constantly being on tour, my relationships, my job and my mental health, and still very much in the process of grieving lost family members. Fortunately, all aspects of my life have been incredibly forgiving to me, but this track feels like an apt representation of the push and pull of things.“

Directed by frequent Fat White Family visual collaborator Niall Trask, the recently released video for “Futureproofing” is fictional and surreal day-in-the-life affair shot on grainy videotape that follows Poduval on a series of adventures as a celebrity chef/influencer that features cameos by My Panda Shall Fly’s Suren Seneviratne and Wear by Local’s Saudi Rahman. Interestingly, while Poduval is busy with Flamingods and Mera Bhai, he has a day job as a chef — and as a result, the video is a bit of a tongue-in-check play on the duality of having a serious day job and being an artist. Along with that, the video is an extended joke on the delusions of grandeur and inflated ego that can come about if you happen to be a remotely successful artist.

“Mera Bhai contacted my agent Desmond Wolf with an idea for a cooking show which I initially refused. After 7 months of no work because of coronavirus I decided I might as well, Niall Trask explains. “As an artist I’m really interested in exploring difficult issues through my work. This piece allowed me to explore subjects such as toxic masculinity, environmental issues, fracking and body dysmorphia. Rather than through the mise-en-scène, I was able to tackle these issues once I was asked by press for a quote and realised I had nothing to say because my brain is empty, so I thought I would appropriate these subjects like everyone else in the world of music videos does.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Vancouver’s Pannekoek Releases a Shimmering and Trippy New Single

Andrew Pannenkoek is a Vancouver-based musician, producer and DJ, who has a lengthy history of playing local punk and rock bands. The Canadian artist is the creative mastermind behind the new electronic music project Pannekoek, a project that can trace its origins to his long-held passion for experimenting with music software.

The Vancouver-based musician, producer and DJ has spent the past 15 years working as a bike messenger — but a recently embraced sobriety has allowed him to realize his passion and interest in electronic music. Interestingly, the project finds Pannekoek putting a modern, sophisticated and trippy twist on a unique blend of sounds he heard growing up as a child of the 80s — in particular TV shows, going to mall, listening to the radio and video games.

“Polyester,” Pannekoek’s trippy debut single is centered around layers of shimmering synth arpeggios, skittering beats and wobbling low end within an expansive and mind-bending song structure. Sonically, the playful yet cinematic track seems indebted to 70s synth disco and hip-hop — in particular, Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk and Afrika Bambaataa immediately come to mind.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Rose Rose is an emerging indie pop project that features two, young, self-taught multi-instrumentalists and producers, who are split between Paris and London. The project is the culmination of two years of experimenting, then developing and honing their sound — a sound that finds them blending elements of house music, 70s disco and pop.

The duo’s debut single “Sugar Hill” is a glittery and carefully crafted pop confection centered around atmospheric synths, stuttering four-on-the-floor, a sinuous bass line, Nile Rodgers-like guitar, ethereal vocals and an infectious, two-step inducing hook. Upon hearing the track, it shouldn’t be surprising that the British-French pop act’s sound will draw comparisons to Daft Punk‘s Random Access Memories — with “Sugar Hill” possessing a similar warm, sepia-toned nostalgia.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays New Bleach Teams Up with Ghostly Kisses’ Margaux Sauvé on an Atmospheric and Dreamy New Single

Throughout the course of this year, I’ve written quite a bit about the Quebec City-based indie pop act and latest JOVM mainstays New Bleach. New Bleach — Dominic Pelletier and Raphaël Potvin — features a duo known across Quebec for their work in acclaimed Francophone indie rock act Caravane.

2020 has been a rather busy year for the duo of Pelletier and Potvin. They’ve released three attention-grabbing singles that have been decided sonic departures from their work with Caravane:

Their debut single as New Bleach, the Oracular Spectacular-era MGMT-like single “Awake,” a track centered around the philosophical question: “What if death was just a dream?”
The atmospheric Quiet Storm R&B meets Beacon-like “Silver Lining,” a track that’s part old-school love song and part plea for hope in a seemingly hopeless and bleak world.
The Kraftwerk and 80s New Wave-like “High.” which expressed the age-old desire to get in your car for a road trip — and maybe pull over to do some hallucinogens and daydream.

New Bleach’s fourth single of this year is the slow-burning and atmospheric “You.” Centered around alternating ethereal and tender vocals from New Bleach’s Pelletier and Ghostly Kisses’ Margaux Sauvé paired with glistening synths, skittering beats and a sinuous bass line, “You” is full of the desperately aching longing that only seems to come from the lingering ghosts of one’s past.

Co-directed by Maxyme Gagné and the members of New Bleach, the recently released video for “You” is an equally slow-burning fever dream mostly shot in the snowy Quebec woods and employs the use of reflections through refracted and busted mirrors, distorted imagery and more. Somehow, the video seems to emphasize the bitter chill;l of late fall in Quebec — and the bitterness of longing when you can’t quite have what you want or need.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising British Pop Artist Gracey Releases an Infectious and Self-Assured Banger

With the release of her debut mini-album The Art of Closure earlier this year, the rising 22 year-old, English pop artist GRACEY quickly established herself as one of the scene’s most successful and highly buzzed about artists. The seven track effort features her first Top 10 UK Chart hit , as well as her latest single, mini-album opening track “99%”

Centered around a slick, super modern production featuring finger snaps, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, shimmering synth arpeggios, a enormous, attention-grabbing hook and the young English artist’s sultry vocals, “99%” is a sugary sweet pop confection that reveals an artist, who is self-assured beyond her relative youth — and about to take over the world as we know it. The song itself finds its narrator asserting complete control of a sitautionship that’s on the verge of becoming a blossoming relationship — all while capturing the excitement, longing and desire of a new thing.

The recently released video for 99% was shot in one extremely long take and follows the rising pop artist in a seemingly effortless choreographed sequence that evokes the swooning pangs of new love.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Los Angeles’ Spacette Urges Us to Dance Away Our Troubles

Jordan Heimburger is a Los Angeles-based guitarist, who has spent the past few years as a session player and a touring musician with acts like The Feed, John Henry and Kevin Bowers’ Nova. Earlier this year, Heimburger began translating his experience of living during a pandemic into a series of songs that drew inspiration from the dystopian sci fi movies and books that seemed to come to unsettlingly vivid life. As songs began to take shape, Heimburger began his latest project Spacette and then reached out to a collection of acclaimed and talented local musicians including Anna Louise Thaiss (vocals), who has worked with Honey Whiskey Trio and as a solo artist; Heather Rivas (keys), who works as a solo artist; Doug Organ (keys, production, engineering), who works with Here Lies Me and Stunt Double; Kevin Bowers (drums), who has worked with The Feed and Kevin Bowers’ Nova; Tony Barbara (drums), who has worked with John Henry and Laren Loveless; John Pessoni (drums), who has worked with The Urge; Ben Reece (sax), who has worked with The Feed, Ben Reece Unity Quartet; and Bryan Hoskins (vocals), who has worked with John Henry to flesh out the songs and contribute solos.

Slated for release next week, Spaceette’s debut EP was recorded using remote recording — as a result of pandemic-related restrictions and lockdowns, much like most of the material being released right now. Interestingly, “Sweat,” the EP’s latest single is centered around squiggling synth arpeggios, Nile Rodgers-like funk guitar, thumping four-on-the-floor and a driving motorik groove paired with ironically detached vocals. Sonically, the track is a slick synthesis of creepy and cinematic John Carpenter-like analog synth soundtracks, disco funk and 80s New Wave.

The recently released video follows a female dancer, who dances to the song with a series of moves that mix hip-hop, ballet and club dancing — with the video suggesting that when times get tough, dance your troubles away.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising NYC-based Pop Act Eighty Ninety Releases a Shimmering Pop Confection

The New York-based pop duo Eighty Ninety — brothers Abner James (vocals, production) and Harper James (guitar, production) — quickly exploded into the national and international scenes with the viral hit, “Three Thirty,” which rose to #2 on Spotify’s Global Viral Charts. Building upon a rapidly growing profile and the buzz surrounding them, followed up the success of “Three Thirty” with their debut EP Elizabeth.

Their debut EP found the duo further cementing their sound and approach: minimalist pop productions featuring a slick mix of electronic sounds and organic instrumentation paired with infectious hooks and sticky melodies, which they’ve dubbed “808s and Telecasters” — a joking shorthand for their sound and their anything goes mentality to their creative process. “We let the emotional arc of the song, rather than any set of genre conventions, lead us to instruments and sounds,” the brothers say of their process.

Since the release of their Elizabeth EP, the duo’s material have amassed over 26 million streams and have been featured on a numerous Spotify playlists, including New Music Friday, Pop Rising, Indie Pop, Chill Vibes, Viral Hits — and was selected by Taylor Swift on her Songs Taylor Loves playlist.

The duo closes out 2020 with their latest single, “Better as Friends.” Centered around a lush arrangement of glistening synth arpeggios, shimmering and reverb-drenched guitars, thumping beats paired with Abner James’ yearning, ethereal falsetto and an infectious hook, “Better as Friends” is a radio friendly pop confection that brings JOVM mainstays like Washed Out, Summer Heart and Cones to mind. But despite the breezy pop vibes, the song is underpinned by the bitter recognition that both platonic and romantic relationships can be confusing and uncertain.

“Better as Friends” is the second official single off the New York-based duo’s Gian Stone-produced, sophomore EP slated for release next year. In the meantime, the duo released a cinematic and decidedly minimalist video for their new single that’s split between intimately shot performance footage of the band in their studio and the act’s frontman on a rooftop during golden hour in New York. Interestingly, the video manages to capture the brooding and heartache at the core of its accompanying song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Emerging French Act Voie 81 Releases a Shimmering, Synth Pop Banger

Deriving their name from the French of word for “track” while simultaneously being a bit of a pun for the French word for voice voix and for 1981, a paradigm shifting year that saw an incredible array of changes in technology and across society, the Paris-band electro pop/New Wave duo Voie 81 prominently features three female vocalists hailing from Paris, Madrid, and Berlin, who sing unifying and socially conscious lyrics in German, English, Spanish and French.

The act’s full-length debut Ralentir which means “slow down” in French finds the act further developing a sound that’s heavily influenced by the analog synth sound of the 80s while thematically touches upon humans’ resistance to an unfair and unjust world and the hope for a better, fairer world. The album’s first single “Nirvana” is a euphoric track centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, tweeter and woofer rocking beats, angular guitars and an arena friendly hook paired with vocals delivered in an ethereal yet sultry French. Sonically, the track finds the emerging French act nodding at early-to-mid 1980s New Order, Giorgio Moroder, Tour de France-era Kraftwerk and even contemporaries like DBFC.

Directed by the members of Voie 81, the recently released video for “Nirvana” is set in an industrial train yard as we follow, a boombox carrying dude and a gorgeous dancer, hang out and dance together before pulling out to follow a train track across the French train ride. The video manages to be playful and decidedly DIY.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstay Summer Heart Releases a Gorgeous, Animated Visual for Shimmering “Black Jeans”

I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of ink over the course of the past decade, covering the Malmö-born, Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music producer and electronic music artist David Alexander, best known to the world, as the creative mastermind behind the critically applauded, internationally acclaimed recoding project Summer Heart.

Alexander began 2020 signing to renowned Swedish label Icons Creating Evil Art, who released his latest effort, Ambitions EP last month. And much like his previously released work, Ambitions draws from the JOVM mainstay’s daily life — with the material conceptually revealing the story of the man behind the breezy and infectious synth pop tunes. Written during a recent trip to California and Malmö, the EP touches thematically touch upon tales about his love-life and allowing himself to let go and experience life as it happens.

“Before going on tour I always make sure to wrap up all the work I have postponed or ignored so I can come back to a blank slate,” the acclaimed Swedish JOVM mainstay says of the forthcoming EP. “But since my tour got cancelled it was the first time in my adult life I actually didn’t have anything to do. It was very freeing and I could sit down and think about what I wanted to create and what I had struggled with in the past. I realised I’ve just wanted too much and never really been able to slow down and see things from a different perspective. The EP itself is about having high ambitions and wanting to do so many things at the same time but not always knowing where to put your focus.”

“One recurring theme in the lyrics is that it is difficult to live in the present,” Alexander adds. “How would it be if you did everything differently? It is the thought of that the grass is greener on the other side, though you know it is not. You just remember the nice things, even though something might have been crap. Like traveling or going to a festival for example. When you are in it, it is neither how you imagined it before, when you where looking forward to it, nor how you remember it afterwards when you remember it as wonderful. It is very much what the texts are about, that you dream away, it is about relationships and life in general. It’s something I’m trying to practice – living in the present, but it’s hard, unfortunately.”

Earlier this year, I wrote about Ambitions single “Good Together,” a swooning pop confection centered round a breezy and atmospheric poduction featuring shimmering synths, strummed acoustic guitar, stuttering beats, a propulsive bass line and the Malmö-born, Los Angeles-born artist’s unerring knack for an infectious hook paired with his plaintive vocals. EP single “Black Jeans” is centered around shimmering and synth arpeggios, skittering trap beats and a sinuous hook. Sonically, the track strikes me as a slick yet earnest synthesis of 80s Quiet Storm pop and brooding atmospherics, making it one of the JOVM mainstay’s more cinematic tracks of his catalog. Much like its immediate predecessor, the track finds its narrator reliving a relationship that has left him with lingering ghosts and regrets with the sort of nostalgia that takes him away from the present he should be paying attention to right this moment.

Directed and animated by James Edwards, the recently released video follows a white-clad, motorcycle riding Alexander, cruising through town. Eventually winding up in a romantic little bar by himself, the animated Alexander has thoughts on one thing — the beautiful women, who got away.

“’Black Jeans’ is episode two in the animated series about Summer Heart. It takes place in Summer Heart’s hometown Los Angeles,” James Edwards explains. “Still in his white suit and on his red motorbike he continues helping people conquer their negative thoughts. At the same time the protagonist struggles on a personal level as he is falling back into bad habits and bad relationships.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

James Fisher is a Chicago-based electronic music producer, best known as ALIGN. With ALIGN, Fisher has developed a reputation for crafting thought-provoking music for the everyday listener meant to be the soundtrack for your daily commute or a night out with friends. So far he has appeared alongside some of the brightest and biggest names of contemporary indie electro pop and EDM including Louis The Child, Illlenium, Autograf, Hayden James, Thomas Jack, SNBRN, GTA and a list of others. Adding to a growing profile, “All In Our Eyes,” a 2018 collaboration with fellow Chicagoan Mielo landed at #1 on the Hype Machine Charts.

Fisher released two singles earlier this year “Second Thoughts” and “Reflections” through well-esteemed electronic music tastemaker label Lowly Palace and a remix of PINES‘ hit single “Tell Me” for Kygo’s Palm Tree Records. Capping off a big year, Fisher’s last ALIGN single of 2020 “When I’m With You” finds him collaborating with vocalist Martina Lynn. Centered around ambient and textured synth arpeggios, skittering beats., and Lynn’s achingly vulnerable, sultry vocals, the upbeat confection “When I’m With You” manages to be both club and radio friendly. But underneath the slick studio polish, the song is a sweet declaration of longing and desire by a narrator, who has stumbled upon the true love that we all wish we have — the sort in which you can find sustenance and comfort in your lover’s presence and arms.

“I started writing this track by using some guitar plucks and experimenting with a soundscape,” the Chicago-based ALIGN says. “I wanted to create an ambient moment, then transition into more of a rhythmic beat. That soundscape became something that I could write chords on top of and develop a beat and melodies. I loved where it was going, but I knew it needed somebody’s story to accompany it. Martina seemed like the perfect fit for the vibe of this track.” 

“When I first heard the track, I was immediately intrigued to start writing and creating a melody for it because it was an upbeat, EDM type track that I wasn’t used to working with and I was up for the challenge,” Martina Lynn recalls. “My manager, Jeremy Gentry and I spent so much time writing, rewriting and recording all via video call, which was such a challenging, vulnerable process but it was so rewarding. When it comes to the actual writing process, we were both drawn to the idea of creating a healthy and happy story of love for the track, because those seem so rare lately. I think everyone can relate to the idea of only being able to think of one person when it comes to love and being in love and wanting them because of the comfort they bring.”