Independent record labels can be a bit wishy-washy. Always having strong written statements on their websites which claim they are the new sound of the generation and are hoping to find likeminded music artists to help achieve their goal. It’s the ambitious tale that leads most independent record labels to only last for a month. Everyone wants to be the new sound of the generation; the icons of the future, but no one is focusing on the sound of present music. One-word genres do not exist anymore and never really did, so why would any record label want to limit themselves to one type of sound? Experimenting with melodies, putting sounds out of context and in places they have no place being is what music sounds like now. Australian based independent record label, Two Bright Lakes is one of the many examples of how a record label should put together a music collective. The label features artists who create ambient folk music, slomo-house, R&B, and anything else in between. One of Two Bright Lakes upcoming music artists, Oscar Key Sung who produced Melo-X and Ghostpoet project Meloghost has got everyone on the internet buzzing over his recently released debut EP Holograms, which seamlessly fuses bedroom R&B and indie-pop.
Oscar Key Sung started off his career in a pop duo called Oscar + Martin, that played around with hip-hop and R&B. After dropping out of the group and going solo, Oscar boiled down his influences to produce a stronger defined sound. Exotic rhythms flow smoothly throughout the tracks whilst overpowering reverbed vocals become their own instruments in a mix of mellow samples, snares, and synths. Our favourite track, ‘It’s Gone’ has a hollow wafting bass that sounds like it’s been produced in an underwater bubble ring. A submarine sonar is the repetitive signifier of the track, which loops around the pitter-patter snares, and minor-key tone steel drums. The tracks on this debut EP seem to be put together like a narrative story as Holograms ends on a note that lets go of the light-hearted filled vibes that were heard in previous tracks, in exchange of more upbeat arrangements filled with intensified volume and quirky drops.
