One beautiful piece to come out at the end of 2021 was the release ‘Clockshifter’ from the avant-garde synth-pop duo ACRAEA out of Brooklyn, USA. A mesmerising piece packed with gorgeously delicate effects, and the intimate and performative vocals of Leora Mandel, the track will have you wondering who’s sci-fi fantasy wonderland you may have woken up in the middle of. Though refreshingly experimental in its musicological structure, ‘Clockshifter’ is wonderfully dreamy, and is crafted in a way that is still entirely accessible to the more mainstream listener, in part because of it’s grounding in familiar instrumentation and samples of nature. ACRAEA are bringing such playful creativity to the world of synth pop as they use their releases to paint a detailed narrative of sci-fi romance and drama, ‘Clockshifter’ being a chapter in what I hope is a vast chronology.

Listen to Acraea on Spotify and connect with them on Instagram