Producer and artist Digidelic drives with a sheer love for music and all of its historical stepping stones. While there are unique quirks to appreciate about his sound and style, there’s also something deeply calming about the optimism and joy that surrounds you as this project fills the room.
Unlike the vast majority of EDM releases of late, this project leads with blissful melodies and entrancing vocals – instead of having them merely feature in the distance. The pulse of a classic dance beat drives things along consistently, but still there’s a certain delicacy and an ongoing sense of artistry to the set-up of each piece.
Parallax begins the journey with all of this. Feeling quickly familiar yet notably unlike anything you can specifically put a name to, the track makes use of a few different sections to build a sense of progression and development as the whole thing pours through. Fragments of distant vocal ideas appear early on, and again towards the end, and meanwhile you get these retro synths and samples that compile and slowly but surely gather momentum. The final moments see electric intensity overwhelm, lifting the listener up in the process – changing the energy of the room in a hypnotic manner. And still those subtle but soothing melodies weave their way into your consciousness.
Black Moon takes a more complex, long-form melodic route and utilizes contrast brilliantly to craft something softly striking. Again, things intensify throughout – mellow beginnings evolve into a fully immersive final third. Still those building blocks are familiar, still the composition is undoubtedly relevant to itself, but there’s a vast sense of strength and possibility as the energy and the layers multiply.
Digidelic as a creative artist approaches music with a fine balance between freedom and understanding. The music satisfies in the way that effective pop or mainstream compositions do, but it also follows its own rules – being both unpredictable and fascinating at every step. This EP introduces moments of deep house alongside of ambient, dreamlike and cinematic softness. There are stages to each piece, a story-line or string of emotions led to it, and as a listener those feelings and details are conjured up in you as the music plays out.
Meridian lifts the mood beautifully, leading with stunning melodies, fusing organic piano tones with retro electronic synths – blurring the lines between the natural world and contemporary audio libraries. This feels like a neo-classical dance hit in some ways, rising up gorgeously and raining down with more of that subtle yet soothing energy from before.
Altitude keeps eclecticism involved and closes the project with a bass-led, somewhat animated, tribal vibe. This feels partly retro gamer-like initially, joyful and optimistic but still making use of some fairly vintage synths. By now, this style of creativity makes sense under the blanket of Lightlike.
Digidelic unquestionably offers various threads or signature traits that can be recognized even between such varied compositions as these. It’s a strong role to maintain, but perhaps more importantly – this project makes for a totally enjoyable, refreshingly original playlist to lose yourself within for a while. Altitude is an absolute pleasure, immensely hopeful melodies and a sort of freely meandering central idea create an arena of spontaneity that mesmerizes as it builds up around you. Find your happy place with this EP, and return to revel in the wonders you found there whenever the moment needs it.
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