Ireland’s Zach James Douglas – a self-confessed “songwriter who can’t sing, but knows people who can” – returns with his latest vibrant offering ‘You’re Still Everything’ featuring rising Milton Keynes vocalist Lupupa.
With a genre-bending take on alternative-electronic music, the producer fuses guitar-based indie and synth-heavy electronica against a lo-fi bedroom pop backdrop. After an initial opening rumble of tubular percussion, Lupupa soon launches into some soft and vulnerable yet poised vocals reminiscent of Arlo Parks, Joy Crookes, or Lucy Rose – and these ebb and flow throughout the track.
So too does the production – an oscillating audio of flourishing synths, bassy backbeats and building symphonic arrangements sprinkled with layered vocal samples and shoegaze-y distortion.
A follow on from his previous single ‘I’d Breathe For You’ released earlier this year, the Dublin-native once again lyrically taps into the surreal pandemic-infused life we’ve had thrust upon us in the last couple of years.
Regarding the track’s meaningful message, Douglas explained “‘I’d Breathe For You’ ..was based around the challenges faced by an individual, struggling to build meaningful connections during lockdown, but with ‘You’re Still Everything’ I felt it was important to acknowledge those who put others before themselves and served as a rock for the ones they love, who couldn’t quite cope with the weight of the pandemic on their own”
It’s an intricately unique sound with elements of Bombay Bicycle Club, My Bloody Valentine and Bon Iver in places. All threads in this tapestry are woven by Zach James Douglas into a euphoric number that celebrates the resilience of friendship, compassion, and human connection when the world felt broken. A real soundtrack to life post 2020.