Exclusive Track Premiere: ‘aia,’ Sunless ’97 and Palmistry

ABOVE: SUNLESS ’97. 

Despite what might seem like a dark and possibly depressing name, music produced by London-based trio Sunless ’97 is far from sunless. Although certain tracks do evoke notions of ’90s house music, rather than slow and dreary sounds, the band pairs hypnotic bass-heavy melodies with airy vocals, and their videos follow suit–think strikingly trippy visual escapes into sunsets and sunrises. Edward Leeson, Alice Davies, and Matthew McGough formed the band in 2011 and since then, they have only released one EP and various singles and have remained relatively absent on social media. But even without a full length album under its belt, the band knows how to produce a successful track.

Their latest single, “aia,” which we are pleased to premiere here, was produced in collaboration with Palmistry–who is known for his globally appealing music that ranges from a contemporary spin on reggae to electro dancehall–and is from their upcoming EP, Pure4Sure, out December 1 via RinseFM.

“‘aia’ is really an open dialogue between friends,” the band explains. “It’s the result of a night at our flat whilst Palmistry was staying with us.”

For nearly the entirety of the song, “aia” rests solely upon its lyrics. The underlying melody comes close to disappearing as mesmerizing vocals carry the story. “Lyrically, it is quite tender and honest,” Sunless ’97 continues. “We pared back all of the instrumentation to leave our vocals almost naked.”

On December 1, the band will release their EP, Pure4Sure, via RinseFM.

FOR MORE ON SUNLESS ’97 VISIT THEIR FACEBOOK AND PRE-ORDER ‘AIA’ ON ITUNES. FOR MORE ON PALMISTRY, VISIT HIS SOUNDCLOUD.