Multi-instrumentalist and producer Matthew Nowhere returns with another ethereal slice of eighties-influenced shimmering synth pop with the track ‘Transforming’, featuring another much loved outfit, Lunar Twin. It comes ahead of the announcement of an album ‘Crystal Heights’ set for 23 May 2025.
The DNA of the track undeniably contains traces of eighties icons like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode and even a hint of Kraftwerk, but this is not a pastiche or carbon copy: ‘Transforming’ has its own unique glitter and pose that is utterly enchanting and completely immersive. The crystalline synths positively thrum and throb with an organic, rich pulse, arpeggiated and energising. Bryce Boudreau from Lunar Twin’s vocals are deep and enigmatic, adding a Bowie-esque timbre. Nowhere says of the collaboration with Boudreau:
The collaboration with Bryce on this song started with some impressive synchronicity, and the whole process really set the tone for a lot of the ‘Crystal Heights’ album itself. Bryce is incredibly gifted at inhabiting these sonic spaces – and he immediately understood exactly what the song needed and what it was trying to convey. I think working together brought out the best in both of us.
Boudreau adds:
I was swept away by the grandeur of Matthew’s music on this song and immediately envisioned a coastal night world populated by dreamers and drifting souls caught in between the dusk and dawn of coastal neon. The rest of story wrote itself. I’m excited to finally be able share this song.
Lyrically, the track has an aching beauty fit for the music:
Late at night, dreams alive
In crystal heights
Transformed before our eyes
Half awake
The wind and waves
Late at night
In Crystal Heights
The result is something bigger than its constituent parts: a widescreen cinematic wonder that is expansive and thrilling to the core with instruments that seem to shake the very foundations, and a delivery that is bold and vivid. The aquatic sounds bubble and pop with a majestic flow and it stands as a fitting soundtrack to a late night neon-lit scene in a movie by Nicolas Winding Refn:
‘Transforming’ is out now and available to download and stream through the link above and below and via all the usual sites.
It is a very tasty amuse bouche for the album ‘Crystal Heights’ which is available to pre-order through the link below.
Matthew Nowhere is the moniker for Matthew Lin Packard and he says of his creative urges:
Music to me is literally magic. I am transforming feelings into sounds. And if I’m going to do that kind of alchemy, the feelings I want to share are ones that are meaningful and transformative. Life is wild and mysterious, and it doesn’t always make sense. But the important things – connection, love – are always grounding and I can’t think of anything else I want to focus my life on.
It is an obsession that we are the beneficiaries of: his music is magically rich and luscious.
As vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Matthew Nowhere explores the synth and tape-laden sounds of the 1980s with inspired reverence. Emerging from the intersection of old and new, his unique music weaves deep vibes and poetic lyrics with gritty New Wave beats. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and currently residing in California’s Nevada County in the forests of the Sierra Mountains, Matthew Nowhere uses authentic analog production styles in creating deeply authentic and soulful music that speaks to the power of love to overcome all obstacles.
Based in Hawaii and Salt Lake City, Lunar Twin have been mainstays on the American dreamgaze scene for many years, this cinematic music duo made of up vocalist Bryce Boudreau and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Murphy. Blending chill electronic beats, soulful downtempo vibes, and poetic lyrics, they create ethereal, hypnotic soundscapes perfect for late-night drives – as evident from their latest 2023 album ‘Aurora’.
Feature Photograph: Anjali Rivera
