Music

Finnish Synth-Pop Band FEELS Uses WhatsApp to Share New Tunes

Whether it’s for playing out at a club or listening at home, DJs and producers typically have an encyclopedic hoard of music, new and old. In The Last Record, they tell us about the last three songs or albums they’ve purchased, and why these were important additions to their music collection.

This week, we spoke to FEELS, a rising synth pop band from Finland. The group shared their selections from a cabin in the middle of the Finnish countryside, where they are working on new music. Most recently, the group released their Gates EP.

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Howling – “Howling (Âme remix)

I heard the remix for the first time about two years ago. Every element in the song is so good and essential in a way. And the vocals are so good. The vocal track is wonderful because it’s so intimate and sensitive. The atmosphere of the remix supports the vocal track perfectly and that’s why it has been a big song for me for couple of years. I love the vision. I get when the lyrics say ”keep the car running.” Very intense! I see something dark and lonely but still beautiful. Maybe a spacious room which is empty and full of smoke.

Corinne Bailey Rae – “Horse Print Dress”

We share our findings in our WhatsApp group, it’s a great source of new music!I heard it last fall when my friend played it to me and love it because there’s ‘crazy synth bass action’. I thought it was pretty fresh. The synth bass action continues along the lineage of James Jamerson, Stevie Wonder and Jaco Pastorius doing cool, soloist runs in the background but still not getting in the way of the vocal and thus supporting the song.

Dan Croll – Swim

This song came up in my weekly recommendations playlist on Spotify. Dan Croll doesn’t have that much music out there yet. I think I’d probably heard one of his songs before this one. It has a nice vibe and makes you feel good. At the same time, it’s fresh and also very cool. I think the lyrics also hit me because of something I’ve been going through lately. I think the lyrics are about the frustration of wanting to be with someone really hard, but for some reason it’s not possible: “Don’t you want to explore the depths that I’m willing to take? / Don’t you want to explore the waves that I’m willing to make?” The lyrics are pretty simple, I think, but work very well. I’m also a big ocean lover so I like the ocean talk.