∞ The Brown Noise ∞

I had a lot of music in my inbox when I came back from Spain, but amid all the promo singles and free downloads, I came across this beautiful music by AIMES. The sound project of Brooklyn-by-way-of-Alabama DJ/producer Aman Ellis, AIMES is the latest in a group of primarily East Coast producers to tackle the chillwave genre of music. I've never really been the biggest fan of chillwave, probably because of a lack of any sort of nostalgia for the 80s, so it came as a surprise to me when I found myself bobbing my head along to AIMES Casio-tinged disco floorfillers.

"Every Time When I See You", the lead single from AIMES's debut album, Your Floor Is Now A Tree (out now), is a great little pop record, all woozy, soft-focus keyboard strobes and twee little handclaps set against Ellis's warm, full-bodied baritone, recalling the disco idols of the late 1970s. AIMES and artists like Twin Shadow seem to be drawing from the same sources for inspiration, though where Twin Shadow wallows in aimless longing, "Every Time When I See You" feels propulsive, a love song with purpose and direction. B-side, "Is A Good Friend?" offered for free download courtesy of AIMES and ModyWorks Recording Company, is slightly more experimental. Plumes of 16-bit synthesizer float over a rolling porno bassline, as an adult voice asks a group of children what a good friend is. It's definitely quirky, and weird, but as mood music or a sonic experiment, it's worth listening to. 

AIMES seems like something fresh in the otherwise stagnant chillwave genre, because rather than merely look back to the 1980s to find his sound, he goes deeper. There's elements of Sinatra's smoothness in Ellis's voice, Kraftwerkian keys in "Is A Good Friend?" and the clear inspiration of contemporaries such as Washed Out in his multilayered instrumentation. I'm excited to see where AIMES goes with his sound, and The Brown Noise definitely keep you posted as he releases new music.

 <span>AIMES: Every Time When I See You - Single by ModyWorks</span> 

Support AIMES by purchasing the "Every Time When I See You" single off of iTunes.