As autumn lies on the horizon, Berlin-based indie pop artist clide creates the perfect soundtrack for those longer, colder nights with his new song “fallin.”
“fallin” is an amalgamation of sound and influence- it takes a different direction as soon as you think you know what’s coming next. The intro’s guitar is warm yet dark, reminiscent of the sounds commonly heard in today’s new wave emo bands like American Football and Modern Baseball. Upon a second listen, there is a noticeable difference between clide and new wave emo: he warps the guitar ever so slightly, giving it a bedroom pop flair; think Still Woozy and Gus Dapperton. His devastating sadness comes through honestly like that of a melodramatic emo song, but its homemade bedroom pop influence paints a feeling of solace, implying that Clide has been acquainted with this feeling before, and has become maybe even comfortable with it overtime.
By the time the chorus comes around, the song establishes itself as one that demands multiple listens to fully appreciate the unprecedented and unorthodox combination of sound. The pre-chorus contains a touch of synths and lofty vocal harmonies like an indie pop song, but the chorus introduces a commercial hip-hop beat that has made SoundCloud rappers superstars. clide has taken the best elements of a wide variety of genres and transformed them to create his own niche within the music industry. As he indulges these creative endeavors further, he’ll find himself comfortably nestled on different playlists, ranging from lofi emo to dark indie pop.
The song ends abruptly with the sound of a phone connection failing, implying clide had just poured his heart out to someone, only to have his feelings unrequited, denied, and cut too short.
2019 was clide’s year to write, produce, and explore the possibilities with his music. He tested his music to be tried and true at underground venues in Berlin, and is dedicating 2020 to sharing the results of his endeavors with the masses. The 20-year-old artist has consistently released music this year, earning the loyalty of nearly 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Written by Jess Ward