20-something Minnesota born Collin Ward, better known on the dream-pop scene as Observer Drift, and creator of bedroom-recorded shoegaze gem ‘Corridors’, and recently released EP ‘Fjords’, is a multi-talented singer/songwriter and producer whose lo-fi, electronic beats and gritty, synth-driven grooves are causing quite a cosmic stir.
Observer Drift’s brand of pensive and wistful reverb-rammed, synth-stylings was first introduced to us in 2012 in the form of self-recorded debut LP ‘Corridors’. This corker of a debut, created in quite the DIY fashion, exposes not only Ward’s penchant for hazy electronica and meditative lyricism, but his unique level of instrumental and musical scope. Featuring 13 tracks of rich and captivating dream pop, and with nebulous guitar lines and gently pulsating drum beats to match, ‘Corridors’ is a perfect celestial summer soundtrack.
However, the release of second EP ‘Fjords’ earlier this month has rocketed Observer Drift’s dream inspired, soul-searching shoegaze into a whole new cosmos of spangled electronic rhythms. While losing none of that magnetic fusion of lo-fi graininess and elusive, dreamy vocals, originally showcased in ‘Corridors’, ‘Fjords’ marks a progression into the unknown territory of unexplored musical modernity for Observer Drift. This EP is experimental, bold and whole-heartedly entrancing, and is the very definition of dream pop faultlessness.
