Quirky, melodic and lusciously soulful, "Standstill" was conceived when producer and Colour & Pitch owner Will Sumsuch woke up with the melody and chords running through his mind. "Rather than waiting for the synths to warm up, I simply hummed them all into a mic," he says. "The track came together behind them quickly - just two hours. That's fast - probably faster than I've ever managed to in the past."
The final recording retains this homemade, spontaneous feeling, with uplifting lyrics soaring from a hypnotic, immobile hum. Those lyrics are delivered with characteristic passion and optimism by Gavin Hardkiss, who was curious to hear the rough demo and then inspired by the melodies to deliver his vocals on the fly. "Needless to say I was blown away," Sumsuch says. "I said I'd finish it the next morning, but Gavin insisted that we 'finish the thought.' So I stayed up all night polishing the track off."
That strange synchronicity is captured in vivid colours, as Hardkiss' vocals and Sumsuch's minimal chords soar, take flight and almost press through the speakers.
"Standstill" glows with a kind of indescribable warmth and sweet musicality, perfect as we reach the heights of summer.
Sumsuch is the head of Colour and Pitch, a Brighton-based independent record label specializing in handcrafted electronic music from the heart.
Gavin Hardkiss attained fame in the early- to mid-1990s as part of Hardkiss, the notorious San Francisco DJ collective and record label, as well as a solo artist under the moniker Hawke.
Standstill is available now from iTunes Traxsource Beatport & Juno