There’s a gently surreal quality to Awaywhere’s new single ‘New Misty Morning’, but the track never becomes so abstract that it loses its melodic pull. Created by visual artist and musician Justin Kleiner, Awaywhere is conceived as a wider multimedia universe, and this release offers a useful glimpse of how that world translates into music.
Featuring Argentinian singer Lucy Rod, the song sits between electronic pop and more experimental production, with bright synth textures, rhythmic detail and manipulated vocals giving it a sense of constant movement. The arrangement is intricate, but not dense, and that distinction helps the track retain a sense of lightness throughout.
Lucy Rod’s voice is handled particularly well. At times she is clearly the focal point, while elsewhere her performance is chopped, layered and altered until it becomes another part of the surrounding texture. Her shifting role gives the track much of its character, creating the impression that the vocal is moving through the same unfamiliar landscape as we are.
There’s also a welcome sense of restraint in the way the broader Awaywhere concept is handled. The project may extend into animation, illustration, storytelling and interactive media, but ‘New Misty Morning’ doesn’t depend on any of that context to work. Its atmosphere is enough to suggest a larger world without spelling everything out.
It’ an angle that makes the single feel even more grounded than the concept might initially imply. ‘New Misty Morning’ is imaginative and carefully constructed, but it remains accessible through its melody, pacing and vocal presence.
For Awaywhere, it feels like a confident step into a more pop-oriented space without abandoning the unusual production choices that give the project its identity. Thoughtful, warm and slightly off-centre, ‘New Misty Morning’ is an effective and vibrant collaboration between Justin Kleiner and Lucy Rod.