Matt Carstens – High

It doesn’t matter to me that the latest release of south african singer/songwriter Carstens is a single. I’m telling you right now, this track is taken straight off lifes’ soundtrack.

The track has an unreal ‘so what. that’s life’ vibe attached to it. With those minimal elements, the muted guitar and just a couple of backing tracks along a defensive beat, the track feels very lightweight yet gives a hint that the message along the song might not be just an everyday happy lightweight one. The vocals of Carstens are emotional but not melancholic. (This is important because too much melancholy or heavy-heart-feel, and the track would lose it’s unique groovy appeal instantly.) I found myself slightly moving my head to the steady and calm groove the track brings to the table. The intelligent mix of handmade and synth elements creates a floaty atmosphere, with tension and calm moments, pretty much like waves at the beach.

While the topic of the track is about love doomed to fail, the message can be transposed to…well, any given situation in life. For me, ‘High’ essentially is all about going out there day by day and just try your best to make life work your way. As bad things like failure happen, it’s important to see the good things resulting out of these situations as well.
With music like this, you can go all in – with a smile on your face, slightly groovin’ down this road called life.

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