IN THE CROWD: NIGHT TAPES' EP LAUNCH @ SECRET SOHO LOCATION

Night Tapes release their whimsical new EP ‘assisted memories’, giving a select few a unique listening experience in complete darkness at a secret Soho location

Listening to the London-based dream-pop trio’s new project during their Pitch Black Playback EP session was a perfect sensory haven, showcasing the record's masterful and cinematic production.

London-based band Night Tapes, formed of Max Doohan, Sam Richards and Iiris Vesik, released their newest EP ‘assisted memories’ last Friday. The project embodies the blueprint the band has followed throughout all their transcendent work to date. ‘assisted memories’ takes you on a hazy dreamlike journey, rich with Night Tapes’s distinctive spectral melodies, signature use of synthesizers and lo-fi drum patterns.

Through a series of singles released ahead of this latest offering, the band has teased an evolution from their classic dream-pop sound, with indie-leaning tracks like 'every day is a game' and 'projections’. For many fans, this has sparked a Christmas-like anticipation for their upcoming project. Meanwhile, those who attended the EP listening were invited into a complete sensory haven to digest this latest release.

Night Tape’s production is spacious, pensive and celestial, sometimes a cacophony of synths and woozy chords, but always delicate in its own way. With the concept behind the band's works grounded in a ‘feeling’ over anything else, the album listening event could not have been more perfect. A setting in complete darkness, that Pitchblack Playback has mastered, allows the listeners to completely immerse themselves and disappear into each track, feeling every emotion that the band muster up, in vivid luminosity.

Heading into the screening room, where the first listen would take place, we encountered warm, dimly lit lamps and cushy armchairs ready to sink into. We were instructed to close our eyes, stay quiet, and simply take in the music. Unsure what to expect of the experience, and Night Tape’s EP at length, we prepared ourselves for the 25 minute journey on which we were about to embark on. 

Instantly as the celestial keys began to build up on opening track ‘drifting’, the entire room was transported to an intricate soundscape somewhere above the clouds. Track by track we fell deeper into the music, and with the forthcoming ‘loner’ that transcendent sensation we were promised displayed itself in full force. ‘easy time to be alive’ stood out during the listening as the tracks muted guitar chords and rainfall-esque percussion provided a stillness that allowed the room to attune to the EP’s profound immersion. As the project progressed we were washed with blooming synths and bright swinging guitar riffs on ‘projections’ and closing track ‘every day is a game’.

‘assisted memories’ is a capsule of sonic highs and lows. Much like its name, the release feels like tapping in and out of hazy memories and sweet moments. Feelings of nostalgia run wild, and lead singer Iiris’ haunting vocals and the band's spacey production lend themselves to late nights alone. Night Tapes set out to create music with a ‘feeling’, and what that feeling is depends on the listener as it bends and morphs around your own experiences, making theirs a discography well worth exploring.