New Music: ‘Kindergarten Crush’ EP by Sparkle and Fade
30 August 2016
Sparkle and Fade is a nameless, faceless producer from Mumbai who’s been releasing a steady stream of his atmospheric, ambient music quite regularly for the last two months in the form of singles (one of which we previously featured here).
About two weeks ago, he put out his first consolidated set of music in the ‘Kindergarten Crush’ EP, after making his debut performance at REProduce’s Listening Sessions.
He stylises himself as ‘loser with a mask’ on social media and (even during the one live show he’s performed so far) keeps his head covered with a black cube with two dead, empty white circles for eyes that stare out into nothing. Much like the image he tries to project, Sparkle and Fade's music has an air of enigma to it – a depth that comes from layers of samples and field recordings blanketed by so much reverb it sounds submerged under water.
EP opener ‘Tangled’ is a short, pretty rendition of ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and precedes the subtly produced, luscious title track and mellow closer ‘Sonder’. At just 3 tracks long, ‘Kindergarten Crush’ feels more like one extended piece of music than an EP, but packs in a punch nonetheless.
You can listen to the whole thing below and follow Sparkle and Fade on SoundCloud for more music.
Image credit (main): Rana Ghose