Live Review: e4444e gets the Sonic Boom treatment with his remix of 'The Oarsmen'

In the lead-up to the release of his upcoming EP in July, Newcastle experimental pop artist e4444e has treated us to a remix of his dreamy cut 'The Oarsmen' by none other than SONIC BOOM of Spacemen3 fame - and it's as far-away and ethereal as you'd expect.

Since his 2017 debut EP, THESE WAVES, e4444e has been honing his unique combo of electro-pop sensibilities with densely layered experimental magic. There's definitely notes of Animal Collective - and more specifically the solo work of Panda Bear - but with a clever knack for mixing live and synthetic samples with quirky pop writing, he's cemented himself as one for experimental fans to keep an eye on. Having been familiar with the more behind-the-scenes work of Sonic Boom (namely producing for Panda Bear and mixing for Sun Araw), a chance to witness the combination of e4444e's experimental goodness with Sonic Boom's touch was almost too good to be true.

Sonic Boom is all about far-away mixes populated with bizarre and almost alien soundscapes, and his take translates beautifully to 'The Oarsmen'.  Straight away he takes the stripped-back vibe of the original and turns it on its head, filling the mix with tails of delayed and reverberated vocals while the soft keys and distant guitar pluck away in the background. The chorus is absolutely sublime, exploding in a sea of vocals and warm keys, while crisp percussion keeps you from getting too lost. It's definitely reminiscent of Panda Bear's latest solo work, but it escapes the issue I had with that in how Sonic Boom's remix gives every element plenty of room to show off while maintaining a lucid and hypnotic aesthetic.

e4444e's slowed-down pop is such a perfect match for the weird and wonderful style of Sonic Boom, it's almost criminal. Here's hoping for a future collaboration further down the line, because for a fan of experimental pop like myself the idea is almost transcendent. In the meantime, though,  e4444e's next EP dropping in July will be more than enough to tide me over.

IMAGE VIA FACEBOOK

WORDS BY MAX LEWIS

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