Slackin Beats – Holding Up (feat. Need For Speed)

Slackin Beats is the moniker of electronic musician Elvis Suljevic from Malmö, Sweden. He describes his sound as focusing on "electronic, experimental and melancholic soundscapes". On the excellent Holding Up this cinematic melancholy is combined with a four-to-the-floor beat creating a sense of movement and making the song perfect for late night trips. The track is a collaboration with fellow 80s-inspired outfit Need For Speed.

Elvis Suljevic: "I've been working with Felix and Martin (Need For Speed) for about a year now. With this track we wanted to create a moody, melancholic track that blends our different styles and genres together. Because me and Martin share the same studio it's really easy for us to share different ideas and just talk about our process.

We created this track in both FL Studio and Ableton. Felix sent me the idea of the first draft in Ableton, that I absolutely loved. After that I finished the track in FL Studio and made the structure, mixed it, added synths, vocals etc."

Also check out Slackin Beats' other recent singles – the soulful Romantic and energetic Asking 4 Time.

Ocoeur – Connections

Connections by French producer and composer Ocoeur is a beautiful ambient work, contantly evolving and shapeshifting like a living and breathing organism. It brings together layers of synths, calming melodies and restless beats creating an emotional impact that keeps changing with the music.

Franck Zaragoza (Ocoeur): "I'm not usually thinking when I am composing a track, but when I finish it I like to reflect on the state of mind I was in. It was the time of the lockdown where I felt very isolated from the rest of the world, and I felt a strong need to connect: with my inner self, with nature, with something beyond our reality. Connections is about all that. I have gotten into a habit where as I create my own presets with racks of effects and FM synths so that my inspiration is not interrupted."

Ramxes – Emperor

We've already covered Ramxes's excellent Jungle from his latest album Deep Crimson, a tune that's eerie and dark, but in a calming way. On Emperor Ramxes goes full dark, taking no prisoners. Harsh bass, relentless percussion and reverberated synth cries paint an image of inner chaos, as the artist explained to us.

Ephraim (Ramxes): "The process for this song was about trying to capture a large and mission-like mood. The song started as me trying to do a synthwave thing, but later became me trying to bring something that was old into a modern and futuristic setting. This track wasn't influenced by any one artist, but more so by my time with Cyberpunk 2077, and some chaos in my daily life. The insturments used for this track are a mix of Repro synths, and Dave Smiths synth the Rev 2, and I beleive the track is best listened to at night or on a rainy day."