Vilde is the wandering musical project of singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Thomas Savage. Since its conception in 2016, Vilde has moved between Stockholm, Düsseldorf, Melbourne, Aarhus, and Norwich, charting the course of his life as a kind of traveling journal. As Savage puts it, “We’re all following some sort of autobiographical narrative, it’s hard to know when it serves as guidance, or when it serves as a hindrance. My narrative began some decades back, and I’m not sure I’d recognise the me who wrote the first chapters.” On projects like last year’s fantastic Atopia, Vilde captures that narrative in gorgeous indie pop and rock. Yet on his new single “Holograms,” Savage “puts down that narrative for a moment.” Instead, the track transports us into an otherworldly, psychedelic dance party, rendered in one of the most impeccably produced pop landscapes heard this year.

“Holograms” opens with the sound of snapping, panned foley – somewhere between rain and the crackling sound of a forest floor. It sounds like crawling through some kind of brush, some magical hedge deep in the forest which divides our world from a fantastical universe beyond. The drums enter, muffled and filtered, like they’re on the other side of a wall, then, as though throwing open a door, the full track enters in all its stunningly well mixed and mastered glory.

It was produced and engineered by David Pye in Norwich UK, who achieves an incredible warmth and width in the mix. Everything is colored with a bit of saturation that sounds like something printed on an old tape machine. It’s this wonderful bit of crunch and depth that brings all the track’s electronic sounds to life. The drums are all snappy and full, the junos are as twinkly as any vintage pop anthem, but somehow more sweet and warm, the vocals are all beautiful high end air. There’s some Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich in the sound design, some Beach House in the intricate composition, and some early Coldplay in the vocal tone. Together, the song is at once undeniably danceable, and transportingly cinematic – a brilliant display of Vilde’s indie pop powers. Watch the accompanying visuals below.

Vilde is the music project of Melbourne-via-Stockholm artist Thomas Savage. Following up on previously shared singles “Flash In The Pan” and “Warm Milk”, the singer-songwriter and producer has finally shared his 8-track new album. It explores a new side of his art-pop, contrasting compositions with twisted synths and minimalist songs with uncanny structures. About the creative process behind “Thud”, the Australian artist detailed:

[su_quote]Making Thud was a new experience for me. I realised that it felt like years since I had really gone deep into music & buried myself in the process of it. I felt that I’d lost touch with the concept of self-disciplined work ethic in music. Eventually my self-application had become merely whimsical and I had come to believe inspiration was reliable. My productivity waned. I felt an urge to prove to myself that I could actually commit to something with serious work ethic & follow it through.[/su_quote]

Before adding:

[su_quote]I hadn’t any idea for a theme in the beginning, but I feel like the record almost became a plea for people to put down their phones and speak to each other, or even to just sit and think instead. But if this is the future for us, one should just accept it I suppose ?[/su_quote]

Taken from Vilde‘s album, you can dive into his new single “Rabbit Hole” below.

With this Deer Du Bois new playlist, we put the soul back into pop.

With Moir, we literally dive in an emotional ballad called “You Have Soul” and oh yes, we do have soul! Honest pop songs don’t come easy, but Summer Heart goes straight for it and tells us “I Got This Thing For You.” One thing GEMS can’t hide is their beautiful new single “Crippled Inside.”

German islander Ruuth is a fast rising newcomer with her refreshing sound and vocals on debut track “All About.”

The most colorful debut in this playlist must be Lillian Frances, who serves her experimental synth pop with Californian summer flair on “Better, Worse.” Just as sunny, Amber-Simone pushes us to shake it off on “Trashed My Heart” and we get turned upside down until the “small hours” with the delicate otta‘s song.

Von Sell already knew how to please us before with his music, but on his latest release “Digital Sleep,” he proves how his angelic, falsetto vocals lift his songs even higher into stardom. Lastly, Refs captivate with a song for all those who have ever tried to drink, smoke, or fuck away the inevitable.

If you want to drink a bit more until you get tipsy, you should check him on Facebook and Soundcloud, and follow his regular posts on our site.

The Stockholm-based artist had multiple tours and performances across Europe and the USA and his new project, simply named Vilde, surely has a base to proceed from.