Deep Sea Data – Ghost Planet
It’s been said that humans know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the bottom of the ocean. One thing we do know is that warmer water temperatures are leading to expanding regions of low oxygen, also known as “ocean deserts,” areas where life is unable to flourish. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Adelaide, AU’s Deep Sea Data released a song called “Ghost Planet” on their two-track album Themes. The song’s submerged, decaying synths bring to mind a lonely jellyfish sluggishly floating through one of these aquatic dead zones. Whimsical yet sad, “Ghost Planet” sounds like a bioluminescent dirge for Earth’s oceans.
Hinako Omori – Auraelia
London-based synth wizard Hinako Omori created her upcoming EP Auraelia (due out 11/22 on Injazero Records) while struggling with vision-altering migraine headaches that seemed to mirror her harried internal state. The EP’s title track, on which Omori, her normal voice accompanied by a demonic, pitched-down version of itself, repeats insomniac mantras overtop James Blake-y synths, vividly illustrates the experience of being stuck in one’s own head. “Have you ever felt so tired that you can’t sleep?” she asks over and over again, finally landing on the phrase, “All you can do is ruminate,” repeated ad infinitum as neon storm clouds gather behind her. “Auraelia” is an intense listen, one that bodes well for the rest of the EP.
Nardeydey – Dreamin
London-based guitarist and producer Shirley Tetteh, a member of the groups Maisha and Nérija, is back in solo mode as Nardeydey. “Dreamin” is a track from her self-titled debut album, due out 11/29 on Lucky Number. The song is structured around a shivering drumbeat, which anchors a fog bank of echoing jazz chords and faintly trickling synths. There are nods to hip-hop and soul here as well; Tetteh slips in the phrase, “Sometimes I need to be alone,” like it’s 2012 Compton, and bursts forth during the chorus with a bluesy, melismatic, “Like yoouuuuuu,” that wouldn’t sound out of place on a 1960’s Motown record. For a self-professed lover of both jazz music and hazy guitar strummin’, “Dreamin” is a dream come true.
Bored In Pittsburgh 