In the saturated landscape of electronic music, Wandour's latest offering "Higher" emerges as a remarkable testament to the transformative potential of space within sound. This Jakarta-born producer has crafted a composition that transcends the conventional boundaries of indie electronic and deep house, creating instead a sonic journey that mirrors its titular promise with exquisite precision.
The track's architectural brilliance lies in its layered approach to elevation – both literal and metaphorical. Wandour constructs a foundation of subdued four-on-the-floor percussion that doesn't merely keep time but rather simulates the steady rhythm of ascension. Against this rhythmic scaffolding, his signature "crystalline-like" synth work manifests not as mere ornamentation but as the embodiment of altitude itself – prismatic tones that refract emotional light rather than simply reflecting it.
What distinguishes "Higher" from contemporaries in the saturated summer anthem market is Wandour's masterful restraint. Where lesser producers might saturate the frequency spectrum with competing elements, he instead carves out deliberate negative space that allows each carefully placed sonic element room to breathe and evolve. The resulting composition achieves a paradoxical density of emptiness – a spaciousness that feels simultaneously vast and intimate.
The track's emotional trajectory mirrors its sonic structure, beginning with grounded, earthy textures that gradually dissolve into increasingly ethereal passages. This progression creates not just a song but an experiential narrative of transcendence.
Wandour's production techniques serve this narrative faithfully, with reverb tails that linger just long enough to suggest infinity without dissolving into indistinguishable wash.
For those who have followed Wandour since his 2019 breakthrough "September in London," "Higher" represents both evolution and refinement of his established aesthetic – the "saccharine laced" sweetness remains, but is now tempered with a newfound sophistication. The whimsical genre-blending he's known for has matured into something more cohesive, suggesting an artist who has found confident footing in his unique sonic identity.
In an electronic music landscape often preoccupied with either intellectual complexity or emotional manipulation, "Higher" achieves the rare feat of engaging both mind and heart simultaneously – a meticulously crafted technical achievement that never sacrifices its emotional core. It's not merely music to move to, but music to move through – a transitory space between earthbound concerns and something approaching transcendence.
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