Exclusive Song Premiere: ‘Smoke Signals,’ Snowmine

ABOVE: CALVIN PIA, AUSTIN MENDENHALL, GRAYSON SANDERS, JAY GOODMAN, AND ALEX BECKMANN. PHOTO COURTESY OF KOSUKE MATSUO

Following their signature hybrid of ambient and indie rock, the latest track from Brooklyn-based band Snowmine is beautifully haunting from beginning to end. Sprinkled with distinctive elements of afro-beats, mellow jazz tones and classical textures, “Smoke Signals,” which we are pleased to premiere here, is alive and thriving, but not without the noticeable addition of more mainstream drum and bass textures. The underlying music combined with front man and composer Grayson Sanders’s gently thundering vocals creates a foggy atmosphere that is equally uplifting as it is poignant.

“I repeatedly found myself in personal relationships where a saving dynamic was overwhelming,” explains Sanders about the song’s inspiration. “It was the insatiable desire to rescue someone else from their own strife, traumas, fears, pasts, or insecurities. But I believe whenever we notice patterns in our exterior lives—both positive and negative—it’s foolish to deny their source, which is inevitably us.”

Sanders draws inspiration from a range of musicians, including Bjork, Boards of Canada, Aphex Twin, Steve Reich, and Igor Stravinsky, which audibly reveals itself in the eclectic composition of “Smoke Signals.” French impressionist composer Claude Debussy even inspired the lead keyboard riff in the song.

“Smoke Signals depicts a man who thinks he’s the rescuer, but in reality is more lost than his marooned lover,” Sanders continues. “It’s not until the fog clears that he sees he has created these tiny miseries for himself, and that he can join her on the shore, on her solid ground.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BAND, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.