I have never really understood the whole idea of ‘new year, new me’. On January 1st, regardless of the year, I find no change in myself and usually only compound any bad habits I might have due to the fact I have a little more time on my hands. Thankfully, this is not the case for everyone. Chicago-raised, New York-based Catey Esler enters 2022 with optimism. Following her debut release Onward, Esler is keen to show a new style and way of writing. Luckily for you, we have the first glimpse of this with her brand new single and video, “Amnesiac”, premiering right here at Everything Is Noise.
In its 3-minutes, “Amnesiac” provides a solid introduction to the world of Catey Esler. The track centres around pulsing electro-pop synths and Esler’s soothing vocals, built upon intermittent glitches and constantly changing beats. Less obvious than the tracks from predecessor Onward, “Amnesiac” sees Esler exploring a wide range of textures, delving further into the world of electronics whilst retaining the pop feel of previous songs. As Esler explains, this new style came about through some experimentation:
‘Sonically, I had been messing around with synths and the endless possibilities of Ableton but I was also trying to approach keys writing differently than my typical classical-piano style arpeggio patterns. Ultimately, “Amnesiac” ended up using both and the whole album became a way for me to learn how to mesh my contrasting styles – a journey to find harmony between the old me and the new.‘
The visual accompaniment to “Amnesiac” features the expertise of dancers from New York dance collective BODYSONNET, choreographed moves in low light accentuating the arpeggiated synths of the track. The video allows the listener to immerse themselves in “Amnesiac”, the lighting in particular giving the feeling that you are listening whilst in the throws of a sleepless night. With this release, Esler has set her stall and provided a little bit of insight into what to expect from her upcoming debut album.
If you have enjoyed what you have heard here today, make sure to keep up to date with all things Catey Esler by having a look at her Instagram and Facebook pages. To have a listen to previous releases, or to keep an eye for the release of debut album Hall Of Mirrors, which is due Spring 2022, take a visit to the Bandcamp page.
