There’s a new kid in Weird Town. We recently received an email from a mysterious producer called Stellar Highs, who claims to be from the Ivory Coast on his SoundCloud, but is actually from Boca del Río, Veracruz. He’s been making music under that moniker for just a few months, and he just premiered his debut single “Alpha Monk (Instrumental).”
It’s unclear whether there will be a version of the song with vocals, but “Alpha Monk (Instrumental)” is a punchy and textual track that grabs influences from industrial, hip-hop, and 90s experimental electronic music. It begins with a chirping melodic line that’s bright on its own, but shortly after, it’s surrounded by a dark, almost dembow rhythm. The song stands out for its continued evolution over just under four minutes; different melodies come and go, and a rhythm that seems static on the surface keeps shifting, thanks to the detailed production.
He also shared a remix of Arca‘s “Mutant.” It’s a freer interpretation of the original seven-minute opus – a more structured and conventional take that stands on a middle ground right between disjointed beat assault and heavenly synth seduction.