(via Shutterstock)
Everything feels so damn fast and intense.
We’re all burnt out, we all need to chill and bliss out but apart from going and hiding in am eco-cabin in the woods far from wi-fi (not at all a bad idea, honestly), what can you do to stop your internal hamster racing like a frenetic friend around the wheel?
Might we suggest these five songs that enliven the soul even as they soothe, the absolute best of both worlds and just what the digital detox doctor ordered.
Now, listen … and exhale.
“All I Need (w/ Andreya Triana)” by Maribou State
(courtesy official Maribou State Facebook page)
Hailing from bonny England, Maribou State are a duo specializing in creating deliciously lush electronic music.
Comprising Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, Maribou State have been active since 2011 with a number of EPs and LPs to their credit, featuring song like “All I Need”, a mid-tempo number featuring the additional emotionally evocative vocals of UK singer Andreya Triana who adds an extra layer of warmth and harmony to a song for which the duo had this intent:
On Hallucinating Love we made a conscious effort to stop using garage-style vocals, so used some Andreya Triana samples, and then did a session with her where we recorded them. We’d wanted to work with Andreya for ages and played her a few ideas. The one she went for was ‘All I Need.’ And we were like, by the way, that’s you on the chorus, doing the vocals, which she loved. She ended up doing the verse vocals for it as well so it became a whole Andreya tune where she’s effectively duetting with herself. At the time we were heavily referencing Aphex Twin with the drums being hip-hoppy but also having this glitchiness to them, but the Andreya sample gives it this big 80s-style chorus. (courtesy Acid Stag)
It’s an ethereally rich and beautiful track which caresses the ears and embraces the heart, embodying the wonder of falling in love so perfectly.
“Want You More” by Moncrief
(courtesy official Moncrief Facebook page)
Good lord but the emotion in this emotionally intense number.
To be fair, just about everything that Moncrief serves up to an eager coterie of fans is full to the brim with emotions that seize the soul in a wholly comprehensive way that means you’re just listening to the song but living it with the artist, but there’s something about “Want You More” that feels a step up from the usual heart-alive emotionalism of his music.
If you’re wondering what drives songs of this sort of emotional power, then this quote from a 2019 profile on her provides all the explanation you need.
If people are going to listen to my songs, they know they come from a f**king real place.
I became obsessed with music very very suddenly [following the death of his brother when he was 19 and Moncrief was just 18]. It was subconsciously a way of me releasing emotions I had bottled inside me.
That realness is evident in “Want You More” which sings about love as it should be – unconditional, wholly embracing and sustained for the duration, no matter what crops up.
“Songbird” by Hylite
(courtesy official Hylite Instagram)
One of the things that really makes a song becoming a compelling listen for this reviewer is when it has emotion pouring out of it.
Emotion that, it must be said, is paired with music and vocals that brings to the fore and amp it up in ways that completely and uttering consume you with a created world where all that matters is what you’re thinking and feeling, usually intensely, in that moment.
“Songbird” by UK producer hylite does that in such a superbly immersive way that you are happy to all into it and not emerge for a good long while.
It’s loud and bombastic in some ways but quite nuanced and mid-tempo in others, a delightful piece of music that world-builds and emotion-sustains in some truly heart-stirring ways.
“I NEED U” by Mild Minds
(courtesy official Mild Minds Instagram page)
Benjamin David is a Melbourne-born, Los Angeles-based producer who presents a musical face known to the world as Mild Minds.
As capable of filling the dancefloor as providing the soundtrack to some transcendental introspection, Mild Minds has the gift for crafting music that sounds like a poem to the ears and pairing it with vocals that match the lyrical intent perfectly.
Exhibit A is “I NEED U”, a luscious slice of euphorically but quietly evocative emotion which feels like a robust dream sprung to life that envelops and overwhelms you in the best possible way.
It’s dreamy, it’s powerful and full and gorgeously alive and you need to lose yourself in this majestically lo-fi slice of perfection.
(courtesy official MYRNE Instagram)
I love when two musical powerhouses unite to craft some truly amazing music.
Case in point about how wondrously good this can be is “Heal” by Singaporean L.A.-based progressive & melodic house artist, MYRNE, and Los Angeles resident singer-producer- DJ Shallou aka Joe Boston.
It’s a wash of propulsive mid-tempo bliss that reflects the ambient house beats Shallou is known for but with an added richness courtesy of his production partner MYRNE who elevates an already good song into something truly special.
It’s a joy to listen to because even though it is deliciously chilled, it has a real vibrancy and presence to it which makes it an absolute pleasure to listen to, over and over again because that’s what your heart needs.
Trust me, it’s the gorgeous kiss of reality-defying bliss and wonder you need today.