Live Review: Sonny gets us into his 'Ozone' with stellar new single

He may be situated over in Copenhagen, but no distance can weaken our love for Aussie-native SONNY, and consequently his newest single, ‘Ozone’.

Damn, this track is easy to listen to, with enduring melodies and bleep-bloops reminiscent of your earliest teen party, where everyone was dressed terribly but having a really fun time. This is exactly the vibe that Sonny, aka Xavier Bacash, was going for when he conceptualised the track, referencing Japanese house music and unabashed synthpop as some of his major influences. Speaking about ‘Ozone’ Sonny says “Japanese house legend Soichi Terada was a big inspiration for this track. I wanted to create a kitschy tapey analogue house/disco track that had the feeling of walking into a house party". 

The kitschy dance flavour seems to be one taste savoured by the artist of late, as ‘Ozone’ follows the release of previous single ‘The Feels’, another track featuring the perfect BPM for a boogie, hypnotic synth oscillations and gushy, loved up lyrics. A notable difference between the two tracks’ lyrics however is in their delivery, as ‘Ozone’ features spoken word over song and an lyrical ambiguity that lends Sonny an aura of decided mystery. It’s only the prequel of things to come, as the artist hints at his fourth solo body of work.

[embed]https://soundcloud.com/sonny_ism/ozone-1[/embed]

If you’re baffled as to why you may not have heard of Sonny until now, it may be because you’ve known him by another name. In another life, Xavier Bacash was the vocalist and one-half of Australian electronic-pop duo Gypsy & the Cat. Since the disbandment of his old musical project and move abroad to the Danish capital in 2017, the artist has cemented his position in the European underground electro-house scene, not only through the release of a library of sounds including three EPs and several singles prior to ‘Ozone’ or ‘The Feels’, but also through the establishment of his own record label, Northern Underground Records. Not too shabby for one bloke from Down Under if we do say so ourselves.

Image: Richard S. He

Words by CLARE NEAL

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