Future Focus 032: Cookii, Brando, Trophie, Sarah Saint James, Tecnosine
Words by Justin Pix, James Guido, Luke Byatt
Welcome to Future Focus, an editorial series providing a personable glimpse into some of best music releasing in the scene. Future Focus 032 features the diverse and vibrant sounds of cookii, Brando, Trophie, Sarah Saint James and Technosine.
cookii - little
By Justin Pix
Within the past couple of months, cookii has launched into the music scene with captivating singles, including ‘coca-cola’ and ‘love yourself (spend forever)’. Her new single ‘little’, brings forth Hyperpop sounds interlinked with the sonic of indie pop.
‘little’ begins with filtered synth notes accompanied by an arcade-like breakbeat in the background. cookii’s elegant voice is then introduced, strongly reminiscent of the Hyperpop genre. This sound continues into the chorus, where the vocals and lustrous hits of airy guitars work together to bring forth an iridescent soundscape. Subtle snippets of vocal manipulation and a gleaming electric guitar feature in the song’s outro displays the song’s ability to mix the two worlds of indie pop and Hyperpop into one.
We are very excited to hear what’s next for cookii!
“‘little’ is a story about a high school couple. I think I got the most inspiration for this track from the early Taylor Swift era - she can be really into story telling in her lyrics & I just wanted to give it a shot myself. It’s kind of showing a cuter side to my music but I still wanted to incorporate things like harsh tuning to tie back to the more hyperpop songs that I make. ”
Cookii (Provided)
Brando - Don’t Call Me
By James Guido
Brando follows up his platinum hit 'Look Into My Eyes' with this new release 'Don't Call Me'.
'Don't Call Me' sets the tone with its nostalgia inducing acoustic guitar riff and vocal chops. This is quickly followed by Brando's distinctive vocal and syncopated pitched percussion which sits like bookends either side of the sound field. The chorus is a blissful mix of happy-sad with vocal effects and distorted horns dancing blissfully around the groove laid out by the drums, percussion and bass. ‘Don’t Call Me’ is going straight in my drive playlist!
With a growing catalogue of sensational singles, I'm excited to hear more from Brando.
“It’s one of the songs I wrote a while back when I was single and kind of jaded about relationships, but I feel like it’s applicable to so many people and their own love lives as well.”
Brando by Logan Rice
Trophie - Recover
By Justin Pix
Sydney Hyperpop producer and vocalist, Trophie has graced us with a deeply impactful and vibrant single ‘Recover’.
Coming off the back of her last single ‘Birthday Party’, ‘Recover’ offers a deeper and more emotional experience. Starting off with warm atmospheric chords, immediately juxtaposed by a raucous and distorted hip hop beat. This quickly becomes a recurring theme throughout the track, an intertwining relationship between hard hitting gnarly bass and beats with ethereal atmospheres. Trophie’s angelic vocals, complemented by the excellent use of negative space, leaves the listener to really feel the instrumental. We see the climax between the two in ‘Recover’s outro, with distorted high pitched vocals being matched by the boisterous beat, subverting the genre of pop and underlining it with reminiscent tones of dance music.
If you are a fan of the Hyperpop genre, we are sure you will definitely love this song.
“‘Recover’ is definitely my first real attempt at unleashing what I’ve felt over the past few months. It is a real visceral and honest track, I lay everything bare. Strangely after writing the track, I felt a great deal of relief, as the song really allowed me to gain insight into how self destructive and melodramatic we can become when we deal with heartbreak.”
Trophie (Provided)
Sarah Saint James - Big Boy
By James Guido
Sarah Saint James follows her recent single 'Outa This World' with her latest record, 'BIG BOY'.
‘BIG BOY’ brings that fresh pop sound we've grown to love from Sarah Saint James with a new dark twist courtesy of Cyrus' production. Entering with a richly saturated 808 and downsampled digital synth effects, Sarah's hyper-close vocals are carefully panned. The surging vocal stems are forged around the stereo field with the perfect blend of valve saturation giving 'BIG BOY' some massive “Tokyo Drift” soundtrack vibes.
Looking forward to what Sarah has in store for the remainder of 2020 and beginning of 2021.
Sarah Saint James by Adam Kafo
Tecnosine - So Far, Surrender
By Luke Byatt
Delightfully deep and atmospheric producer, Tecnosine has returned with ‘So Far, Surrender’.
As the name suggests, ‘So Far, Surrender’ oozes with melancholy melodies and a downtempo aura. The colossal soundscape stretches further than the horizon, allowing for the composition to bound endlessly within the almost five minute duration. The volume and space within the record generates a somber tone resulting in a listener ample time to reflect and become absorbed into their introspective tendencies. Tecnosine’s attention to his craft is fully apparent within ‘So Far, Surrender’ as well as his extended catalogue.
Tecnosine has safely positioned himself as a mainstay in my meditation and chill out playlist! I’m eager to vibe out to his future releases.
Tecnosine (Facebook)