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During Barcelona’s summer, Australian Jai Piccone finds sleep and its accompanying dreams an oddity. The days blend seamlessly into nights, the temperature doesn’t waver and the lines between sleep state and waking life blur.
These musings were the catalyst for Make Me Understand, the title track off this gifted singer-songwriter's EP of the same name. A song to help decipher the messages within his dreams. Throughout, Jai plucks whimsical imagery from his mind’s eye taking listeners on a prancing synth-laden trip. Vocally, he shines bright telling of strange interactions with fire and water.
Second in line is “Follow Me”, a story of the most elated high and subsequent comedown. Jai encourages listeners to party alongside him at the peak of their powers, tossing light and shadow through his lyrics. As he sings “Follow me on tonight, feel it come on” and “someone has to know by now your falling.”
Over on the B-side, we’re met with “Actor”. A piece that was started in the depths of lockdown in Amsterdam and finished much later. “It sat on my hard drive for about two years before I had the courage to open it back up whilst visiting family in Australia.”
“Actor” is a vocally-driven chameleon. A song with a myriad of influences that is ever-changing. Twanged-out chords meld with laser-like synths culminating in a stellar outro. Listen closely and you’ll hear a tale of a character in the grips of fame who is overwhelmed by the sudden attention.
Next up is “The Only One”. Built around an attractive chord progression and a soaring vocal lick, this one embodies the thrill of touching down in a vivacious foreign city. As Jai tells “ I wanted to express the excitement that comes with change and nod to the nightlife and romance of Barcelona.” A classy interpretation of this Catalonian melting pot after dark.
Taking the fifth spot is “You Look”, the quickest cut off the EP. Flexing his club muscle, Jai marries playful and child-like vocal snippets with rising keystrokes, whipping up a record that’s sure to pop in DJ sets.
“Luck” is where it all ends. Taking a reflective outlook, Jai digs into what he calls “a metaphorical maze of his own creation”, pondering if he’ll ever know the reason why he ended up here. In what’s a gorgeously moody production, Jai sings delicately on the phenomenon of luck – those right or wrong choices that lead to a multitude of different outcomes. An introspective ending to an EP of many colours.
Make Me Understand is a bold expression of sonic forces and experiences that have called to Jai over the last few years. Drawing on unforgettable music memories from Europe, to asking bigger questions about life itself, this body of work is straight special.
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