FAWM: "I've been dreaming of 海斗"

I've been dreaming of 海斗

Liner Notes

I was working on a slow piano number this morning, and then got bored and decided to open a new project and set the BPM at 168bpm. The beat/bass/synth all came together frighteningly fast, and the arrangement didn't take too long either. I tried a ton of different styles of vocal until I eventually settled on this. My initial giberish lyrics for the chorus were "dreaming of keto" and I was going to write about fad diets but decided against it. I really liked how the word sounded, so lucked upon something close that had a nice meaning; 海斗 is, apparently, a composite Japanese word combining 'kai' (ocean/sea) with 'to' (fly/soar - I do hope that's correct?? @santadharma @balancelost )

I thought it'd be a nice basis for the song - dreaming about flying over the sea - if we're picking, I'm most happy with visiting Japan again...

Some songs I can't wait until I've finished, but I really enjoyed putting this one together.

#citypop #synthpop #midwesternsynthpop

Lyrics

Hey man! I’m feeding shapes to a monitor Sharp inhales in the top right box Hey man! I think heard that one before I’m always slipping sliding off my soapbox

I know I’ve been dreaming of kaito, kaito, kaito

It’s an alien joy for a postmodern boy Can’t bring myself to kick the leaves There’s life in my goodbyes dead behind the eyes keep promising to find my feet

I know I’ve been dreaming of kaito, kaito, kaito

I know that I am dreaming and I am scheming, oh I grow when I’ve been watered and nurtured, oh oh (I gotta do this so I can do that)

I know I’ve been dreaming of kaito, kaito, kaito

Comments

@ouorri 1h

them synth puffs touch the eardrums nice 'n' soft -u- this whole circle of earfriends seem a jovial bunch to incorporate into... perhaps get " Ca u gh t On " ! ! ! you know how that can happen with pop's musi'c... . w.

@vomvorton 1d

Top-tier synthpop, this is my favourite so far (admittedly I'm a week off the listening pace). Such a great chunky synth bassline, earworm chorus and the city pop lifts are delightful.

@theboyhoy 5d

Brilliant

@kenjku 6d

Man this one grooves. Love it. Everything about it is perfect just brilliantly written. Chorus is so catchy! Digging the electric guitar parts I’m hearing as well.

@andrewthewood 1w

Oh yeah! If you don't want to play this as a Spook Musiek I'm sure Ornate Coalmine would embrace you for a little guest turn!

@owl 1w

This is so catchy and buoyant! What makes it Midwestern synth pop? The part where it breaks down and gets more guitary is awesome, I love when an electronic track switches gears and you can hear real instruments.

@adforperu 1w

Thank you!! Heh that was a joke really, just some of the guitar parts were a bit emo-y I thought

@tangle 1w

woooosh this was the serotonin blast I needed today. That bass line and those harmonies force me to dance. Will play this on my next trip to bop away my flying anxiety. Kaito is a wonderful concept, although a keto song would have been interesting too hah.

@balancelost 1w

I can imagine this being performed by Dragon Sound, which means that if you ever play it live you have to do it shirtless #themstherules. 168 is my kind of bpm, but why not just 1bpm more one wonders? It's a fun bop and I especially like the lead synth line. I am far from being an authority on kanji, but I did jisho.com it for you, which will tell you little you didn't know already

https://jisho.org/search/%E6%B5%B7%E6%96%97

@lowhum 1w

I saw the 'sea' character and it is a great song with a eastern sentiment, reminding of 80s synthpop - its actually "sea fight" if you get to the core of the chinese characters which also gives another postmodern dimension to deconstruct

@ddd 1w

…………….weeb

Incredibly catchy! This will be getting replayed.

@bradbrubaker 1w

Has a cool forward drive and fun synths. The vocal layers at the bridge were enjoyable to swim through.

@mdavisto 1w

God damn, Adz, this is the biz. I love the synthpop sound at the best of times, but oddly this reminds me of vibes I've heard coming out of Aus.

My ears hear that you've been dreaming of Cape Town. You should visit, the sun goes down at 10pm and the beach parties are legendary. Or there's nature and fynbos and shit, I don't know what you're into.

@billwhite51 1w

the kaitos remind me of the hey nows in the song dont dream its over, and i kept thinking how songs like this cnat be written with just a guitar. you have to put together the thythmic framework first, and then build it with musical building blocks. i just love this kind o song and wish i could make one like it for myself..but i have neither the tools nor the skills. but i can sure enjoy listening to your song. it is so full of life and sparkle.

@frenchcricket 1w

This is incredible. Its rhythm is so infectious, particularly enjoy those little gaps in the chorus. I also love those Weekndy synths but I’m an 80s girl so that’s a given. That chorus is going to be in my head all day, I can see why you made it work, lyrically. When I finally break my duck of seeing you live I wanna hear this, loud!

@adforperu 1w

oh bless you, thank you! I'm not sure this would work as a Spook song, I'd have to think about it. Maybe one for my new band though.. 👀

@sph 1w

Great driving synth bass. I also love your tiny details like the "hey" etc sprinkled over this uplifting song. Very nice listen!

@thelowestbitter 1w

Oh this is fun. That up and down synth arp sounds great and that chunky synth bass is lovely. Chorus is a ridiculous earworm, thanks for that. The guitar noodles in the second half of the verses are cool too. The stripped back final chorus intro with just crunchy guitar works great too

@rshakesp 1w

Cracking song - I really like the open high hat 5678 fills - it’s little stuff like that that makes songs stick out! The repetition of the chorus hook is really appealing. The harmonies throughout are fantastic - great track all round - needs an OK Go video to go with it!

@coolparadisoMod 1w

A classy pop song!~ The synths really lift this! and those guitars wont be outdone! excellent production!

@deleted 1w

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@bxphane 1w

When I heard the first synth riff, I could have sworn it was a Battles song! It's super catchy and very well produced, I love the retro feel. It's definitely a radio hit. Great vocal performance!