Kan Wakan is the moniker of LA-based Bulgarian-born producer, film composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Gueorgui Linev. Besides production and songwriting for artists such as Moses Sumney and Thundercat, the artist has been keeping the audience in suspense for more than two years with the release of his forthcoming album “Phantasmagoria”. This period has been marked by the release of several singles, including the excellent “Molasses” and “Still Feather“. Today, the artist is back with a new teasing single, “Tuesday”. The track, which features vocals from Rachel Fannan, Avi Buffalo, and the strings of the Sofia Philharmonic orchestra, is apparently one of the most expensive productions of Kan Wakan to date!

About the song, Kan Wakan detailed:

[su_quote]Writing Tuesday with Rachel and Avi was like finishing each other’s stories.. and also like being stuck inside of a Zelda game on multiplayer and with our combined efforts, working to broaden the map and find our way. It was only towards the end when we were able to look back and see the overarching theme. We needed each other to bounce ideas off of, so we could find a connection and common ground.[/su_quote]

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Connect with Kan Wakan via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Its fifth single “No Line” showcases, once more, his proficiency in blending the organic with the electronic. The bottom line of Kan Wakan‘s work is to avoid the overheard pop tendencies which encompasses the song’s structure but more importantly its sound. In “No Line” he does so by breaking out of the traditional boxes by fusing contrasting elements. The track commences with a subtle but dissonant synth in tandem with tremolo-filled guitars setting the stage for the fine-grained nature of SAÍGO‘s vocals. Gueorgui‘s friend and L.A based musician sings “there ain’t no line between your love and hate” in the chorus which implies that if someone hates you, there is a chance, they also love you… The same brain circuitry is involved in both extreme emotions which could apply to this track: you either dislike it and think it’s too far-out or you might also think it’s beautifully avant-garde and love it.

As the tune progresses, crescendo layers of new sonorities and acoustic instruments arise merging freaky layers of synths with powerful drumming and organic arrangements. The phenomenal finale takes off around the three-minute mark yielding an epic orchestral jam, in a way only Kan Wakan can, touching the borders of psychedelic rock soundscapes.

The way he talks about the track reflects his complex sound… Gueorgui told Pigeons & Planes that “No Line” is “the unravelling of a lopsided relationship, the deconstruction of false dichotomies as glimmers of optimism are replaced by the harsh hues of clarity. As truth emerges, strange bedfellows are unmasked: threats masked as promises, oppression enabled by hope, damnation the appetizer for salvation.”

The highly anticipated triple LP is the result of three years between Sofia, his home ground, and his studio in Koreatown, Los Angeles. Defined as “a sequence of real or imaginary images like those seen in a dream,” “Phantasmagoria” is shaping up to become a real musical chef d’oeuvre after his astonishing previous release “Still Feather” who aggregates more than 300k listens. Veritable Swiss army knife, the 28-year-old producer, film composer, songwriter, and genre-breaking multi-instrumentalist has already performed with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Royal Blood and Lianne La Havas in the past.

His music has an intellectual perfume to it which earned him the “synth scientist” epithet. On the one hand, while listening to the track, everything is perfectly mixed: every chord progression, sound and harmony is meticulously executed and melts together. On the other hand, the casual listener might not think so in the first place as the instrumental combinations and complex arrangements give way to eccentric textures. Sooner or later however, no matter what your musical tastes entail, you will find yourself intriguingly satisfied by Kan Wakan‘s bold and experimental music. Give it a listen and some time, because it’s nothing like you’ve heard before.

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For all the texture woven into this dreamscape of oscillating synths, revved-up guitars, and fragile vocals, it’s really the simple-but-astounding chemistry between Kan and SAíGO that makes “Still Feather” a punch in the chest. The battle being waged between delicateness and power here is as paradoxical as it is magical – something that’s immensely tangible during every haunting iteration of this chorus. For a song named after something as light as a feather, it’s ironic how heavily a refrain as simple as, “Sometimes I get so tired”, can weigh on you.

“Still Feather” by Kan Wakan is the soundtrack to whatever film is playing in the listener’s head at the time.

If you decide to dive deeper into “Still Feather”, beyond the surface layer of hazy emotion, there’s plenty of meaning to be gleaned here. Gueorgui Linev, the man behind the pseudonym of Kan Wakan, told Pigeons & Planes:

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“Still Feather” ruminates on our industrial daydream; the precarious union of technology and prosperity… And it feels dissonant, out of touch, modern life is driving to the brink of exhaustion, while our synthetic creations grow in number and influence.

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Whether you choose to engage with “Still Feather” simply as a piece of music, or as the dystopian novella it seems to represent at its core, there’s little doubt that Kan Wakan and SAÍGO have created something worth exploring.

Take the time, take the trip: press play. “Still Feather” is worth its weight in gold, and it’s only a taste of what’s to come… The artist’s upcoming triple LP “Phantasmagoria” is due in the coming months.

You can follow him over Facebook, Twitter and Soundcloud.

It was explained by Wakan that the song was written after his grandmother was taken into hospital. The song was made to be an illustration of hope, as well as the process of noticing the impact of both time and change.

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“Molasses” will be featured on the upcoming LP entitled “Phantasmagoria”.

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If you wish to follow up on Kan Wakan, check his Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.