Thao Nguyen and San Fermin Come Together for the Unexpected Thrill Ride “Dream Yourself Awake”

The single is part of Brooklyn-based Better Company Records’ “In This House” Series.
Thao Nguyen and San Fermin Come Together for the Unexpected Thrill Ride “Dream Yourself Awake”

The single is part of Brooklyn-based Better Company Records’ “In This House” Series.

Words: Margaret Farrell

June 15, 2021

Better Company is a new Brooklyn-based label headed by San Fermin‘s Ellis Ludwig-Leone and Allen Tate that’s devoted to fostering exciting artist collaborations. A part of their In This House Series, the label’s newest single “Dream Yourself Awake” is a thrilling meeting-of-the-minds between Thao Nguyen and San Fermin.

Ludwig-Leone explained that the end result of “Dream Yourself Awake” was far from what the two collaborators first envisioned. “It’s funny because when we started out, we wanted to do something really beautiful, with strings and vocal pads,” he says. “But then once she sent me the first draft of the lyrics, we threw most of that out and replaced it with detuned drums and keys. I did a lot of pitch shifting and chopping of samples to create a texture where it feels like the ground is constantly shifting under your feet. The last thing we added was the big guitar riff in the choruses which pulled everything together.”

Nguyen adds, “I remember our first phone call and how we were both quite excited to relinquish certain stresses of solo songwriting and decision-making to the joys of near-stranger collaboration. We traded synth and percussion stems back and forth for a bit, and then I started pretending I was in Killing Eve—even through the guitar parts! I’m so pleased with the shape and teeth the song took on as our ideas built and morphed together. I’m very glad to call Ellis a friend and we thank you for listening!”

Hear the eerie track below.