Earlier this year Michael Hansford released a painfully intimate LP under his Molly Drag moniker which blended a handful of familiar genres—slowcore, dream pop, folk—to recreate certain inexplicable feelings of nostalgia. Just two months later he’s back in the proverbial studio—this time turning out a bedroom single that pays homage to his passion for IDM.
“I needed a break from guitars whilst working on another album since tour, so I’ve been experimenting and creating a dance album,” he explains. “I’ve always been a massive fan of house/IDM so this has been a fun time. I feel like I’ve always had at least one track on my past albums that has those elements, but with this I’m really diving into a new way of making music.”
Despite sounding nothing like “Charlotte” or “Out Like a Light,” “Exist” shares an ambiguous melancholy with the songwriter’s past work, Hansford’s soft vocals instead ducking behind a minimalist beat. “Even though it’s a different direction, it’s still Molly Drag. I’ve had an urge to make a full album like this, so hopefully I’ll have something out in 2020.”
Stream the track below, and keep an eye out for a new LP next year.
https://soundcloud.com/mollydrag/molly-drag-exist/s-mzFEn
