Hong Kong-based producer Ben Tatlow creates startling mellow ambient under the pseudonym Antarctic Wastelands. His most recent track, “I Can’t Feel You Anymore”, is a full-on luxury to the ear, yearning soundscapes that develop with cool tones that spread across the stereo with conscious, pulsing life. The theme of loss is apparent here, not just by the title, but in the lyrical-less cries and potently frosty swells of synths that create a comforting space, though regrettably only envelope you for less than three minutes. Tatlow creates “soundtracks for wandering souls”, and it’s easy to get lost in this music without braving Antarctic wastelands.
matchpoint – Everover
folk pop
French duo matchpoint merges sugary pop hooks with hyper-atmospheric ambient folk on “Everover”, a fetching track with impassioned vocals delivered in an intriguing accent, mellow acoustic guitars, and high-rising synths that ascend to glacial levels. Taken from the double single EP “Lost Radiostation”, the track is a catchy lament on lost love and the growing pains that come from healing heart-wounds. The members of matchpoint are known somewhat mysteriously as “Ash Fox” and “Kid”. Whether or not those are their real names remains to be seen, but it won’t be surprising when more people try to find out who is behind these emotionally driven and touching tunes.
The Weather Holds – Five Roses
indie folk
While not household names, at least not outside of their country, the members of The Weather Holds do indeed form a super group. Spearheaded by producer and composer Devon Bate, the Montreal-based ensemble includes Common Holly, Jean-Michel Blais, Jeremy Dutcher, and composer Beatrice Ferreira. Taken from the debut LP, the charmingly-titled You Couldn’t Ask For a More Beautiful Day, “Five Roses” is a titillatingly folksy singalong; anthemic while being profound and without being too commercial, its high-brow poeticisms
keeping things on the arty side of indie folk.
HEADSGONE – Unfaithful
electronic
Corkonian electronic producer HEADSGONE fills his kinetic mixes with bucketloads of musicality on “Unfaithful”, an epic tune with dancefloor ambitions that also speaks to the inner world. Having started releasing hip-hop beats on Soundcloud back in 2016, the producer has evolved towards colliding ’90s inspired breaks with mash-ups of popular music, in this case, Rhianna’s “Unfaithful”, which has been twisted and tweaked beyond recognizability, and infuses the original intentions of the song with layers of hidden emotion and responses, all in a meticulously crafted mix.
Detroit Techno artists The KAZ Brothers unleash frenetic, explosive energy on “Na Na Na (Trash)”. Taken from the duo’s recent album “In My Dreams: Volume 1”, the track ruminates with dark anxiety, a sonic exploration of what it feels like to have a panic attack; tones and rhythms rise to intense levels. Thankfully, the group have made the track as irresistibly danceable and interestingly-produced as they have neurotic. The simple ostinato is repeated in varying tones and keys as spluttered hi-hats and vocals drenched in effects sing out over cleverly low drums, creating an absorbing track with plenty of tricks up its sleeve.
