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Music

Balam Acab’s Cool New Track “&&&heartsss;;;” May Alleviate Your Heatwave Misery

The Pennsylvania producer’s Bandcamp gem is full of refreshing nature sounds for the summer heat.
Photo courtesy of Balam Acab.

After a four-year year stretch between albums, Pennsylvania native Balam Acab released Child Death at the end of last year, returning to his favorite pastime: forging psychedelic sounds that toy with nature, orchestral samples, and underlying cassette tape fuzz. At his best, the producer born Alec Koone manages to amalgamate golden moments from disparate corners of our sonic experience—the rainforest, the symphony hall, the club—into something dreamlike. His music feels familiar, even if we can't quite remember where we've heard it all before.

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Two days ago, on July 26, he released a new standalone single called "&&&heartsss;;;" that follows in the same vein. Koone masterfully pairs near ASMR-inducing water sounds—recalling Animal Collective's earliest days—with a delicate vocal sample from whispery R&B singer Devyn Rose. He then seamlessly weaves together deep orchestral swoops and fluttering arpeggios, somehow setting a cozy sonic palate perfect as Rose reduces romantic feelings to nature too: "I can't stop loving you/my heart beats for you." It's a far cry from his other recent efforts with the noise band, WINGS OF THE GREAT EAGLE, which delves into nature's more sinister sides. This time Koone uses his track to conjure peace and joy—finding hope and a heartbeat in the world around him, which we could all use in the midst of all this heat.

Listen below.