The newest single from LA-based Paper Idol, “Clouds” is a thrilling exploration of the volatility of our emotions in the face of the unknown.
Stream: “Clouds” – Paper Idol
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Zany, danceable, and jubilating, Paper Idol’s “Clouds” is a burst of pop colors and glossy feelings, balancing a catchy, frolicking melody with sprinkling, textured-filled electronic experimentations. The project of LA-based artist Matan KG, Paper Idol wraps us up in a whole other world, one splattered with colors and flashing strobe lights. We might be singing about being lovesick or feeling anxious about our next moves, but we’re having fun doing it.
Sweet dreams, bad at it seems
I can ship my mind to a new location
Heartbreak, made a mistake
We can fix this good as new
She speaks, it makes me weak
Every word drips out no explanation
Lips shake, she made a mistake
Now I don’t know what to do
Loving you was easy ‘till you got yourself thinking out loud
Now you got me with my head in the clouds
Atwood Magazine is proud to premiere “Clouds,” an electrifying single out October 30th via CloudKid. The latest of Paper Idol’s bold, genre-defying productions, “Clouds” is a sonic collage made up of distinctive musical elements. The track starts off with a funky guitar rhythm, which Matan sings over with soothing, carefree vocals paired with electro-fried falsetto harmonies. We’re taken aback when the song shapeshifts into something more industrial, as though we’re suddenly transported onto a warehouse dancefloor — its raindrop-like pluckings and dark, buzzing bass drops would echo in our minds long after the song ends.
Matan tells Atwood Magazine, “Music has taken an awesome turn in the last few years. The weirdest stuff is popular. Genres barely exist and the line between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art is blurred. I grew up playing in bands and then got sucked into electronic production, so you hear a good mix of alternative and dance in my music. I like taking people down the garden path: you’re listening to Paper Idol, you think it’s a fun jam, then BOOM something new hits you. I’ve been on a David Lynch kick lately, and he does exactly that in Mulholland Drive. There is no other movie in the world like Mulholland Drive. I want people to finish Paper Idol songs and feel like they just discovered a new genre.”
Channeling surrealist and phantasmagoric energies, “Clouds” both floats and sinks. It’s wonderfully charming and just the right amount of off-kilter, and it doesn’t feel like a one-off musical exploration, either, but a glimpse into an entire style which utilizes all instrumental elements, both electronic and organic, and morphs them into something new. Matan cites collage, pop art, and De Stjil as some of his larger aesthetic influences. He speaks of a desire to “invite my fans into an entire Paper Idol universe” through not just his music, but its accompanying visual artwork, photographs, and videos as well.
True to its title, the lyrics of the track never quite dwell in the specifics, but rather hover around something more abstract. From having one’s “head in the clouds” to phrases like “God-sent” and “star-crossed lover,” “Clouds” fabricates a world in which we’re dazed and confused. Speaking about what the song means more explicitly, Matan explains that, “On one level, the song is about a breakup where we were in limbo between being together and splitting up for weeks. On another level, the song is about battling the uncertainty of our lives right now.” And those swirls of emotions that come with being in a state of ambiguity, those moments of highs and lows we conjure up in our heads, could not be articulated any better in “Clouds.”
Loving you was easy
Till you got yourself thinking out loud
Now you got me with my head in the clouds
You got me with my head in the clouds
With my head in the clouds
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Stream: “Clouds” – Paper Idol
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