Unpredictable to the core yet ever impressive for his intricate fusing of vastness and precision – Swiss composer and producer David Ratmoko continues to blur the lines between classical and contemporary electronic genres, with the darkwave depth and gothic etherealism of Andante One.
Music
Music-making racoon Trash Panda collaborates with long-time friend Andrew, to deliver an aptly-titled album of original compositions that quickly sets listeners off on an immersive and dreamy journey.
The overall creative set-up rings loud in a similarly distinct way, the music blending the familiarity of pop with the alternative freedom of an artist whose creative pathway is clearly uninhibited, and genuinely focused on feeling and intention as it pours through the airways.
Dreamz holds nothing back, both lyrically and performatively, and this is what lets these songs become the perfect accompaniment for any and all modern listeners – in particular, those who are feeling equally uncertain or lost whilst Roaming In The Dark.
Bryan Braning was inspired by his wife and daughters to write the songs of Rise Phoenix. The tracks read like poems in many ways, often abstract and provocative, rather than literal and detailed or following specific scenes. There’s a depth to the wonder of each song, and the music backs that up well.
Beautifully captured for that reverb-kissed ethereal chamber of contemplation, There Is A Sound pours through like a nostalgic feeling of depth and wonder. The song achieves a sense of intimacy and vastness all at once, utilising contrast beautifully from these lower-toned verses to the impassioned and higher-pitched hook.
Long-time musician and songwriter Paul Maged ignites a sense of artistic legacy, bringing together the pace and energy of pop-punk with a progressive rock thread of musicality and lyricism. His five-track EP Crossroads proceeds to explore the depths of modern life and war amidst a melodic, awakening background.
Introducing an intoxicating fusion of spiritual contemplation and euphoric sonic design. H.4.N reflects upon the unstoppable current and power of Niagara Falls, through the intensely immersive EDM single In The Current.
That’s the key with much of Blue Julius’ songwriting – this sense of newness intertwined with that which naturally connects and soothes.
Featuring subtle vocal harmonies and a clear sense of longing and warmth carefully intertwined, Been Everywhere But Me is a profound retelling of the turmoil that inevitability comes from living a life incompatible with our authentic selves.
Beginning with a Content Warning, the album sets out to explore the story of a girl who attempts to commit suicide, but winds up immersed in an Alice in Wonderland-style adventure – within which she’s forced to confront her mental health demons. It’s a dark topic, but broadly relatable, and the album is loaded with imagery and ideas that feel hopeful and optimistic in contrast with the desperation at its core.
Catchy but non-intrusive, electro to organic pop unedited and unhidden by effects and falseness, Elliot Wren’s music always speaks its truth both stylistically and lyrically, and Queen Of Hell underlines that strength as the latest and perhaps most distinctly quirky or characterful song to emerge thus far.