Electric Feels: Your Electronic Music Recap feat. Cassian, Empire Of The Sun, Dugong Jr + more

The world's electronic music scene moves quickly. Every week, we're treated to a horde of different singles, remixes, albums and more from the genre's vast sub-genre umbrella and often, it's hard to keep up. Here's where we try to bring you up to speed, covering five of our favourite electronic releases from the week just gone. Check out Pilerats' homepage for more brilliant music and news.

Cassian - Same Things feat. Gabrielle Current

Cassian is one of our favourite producers around at the moment, whether it's behind-the-scenes of records by RÜFÜS DU SOL or in the spotlight, like on his recent, charging comeback single Lafayette. Lafayette marked the return of one of our country's best - and most overlooked - names in fine form, while also launching Rose Ave Records, a new label venture from the RÜFÜS team that alongside Lastlings' new single Deja Vu, promises some real good times ahead. Same Things is Cassian's latest release and it's a bit more of an accessible cut compared to the thick club pulse of his previous work, adding in a soaring vocal line by LA singer-songwriter Gabrielle Current to his signature, multi-textured house production that offers something a little more radio friendly. It offers a touch of versatility for the now-LA-relocated electronic don, who with a debut album out this year, has some bright, bright times ahead of him.

Empire of the Sun - Chrysalis

It's been a while between drinks for the Empire of the Sun team, with the time since their 2017 EP On Our Way Home and now being focused more-so on their side projects; Luke Steele working with names like M-Phazes, while PNAU steals the attention of the Littlemore side. This year, however, marks ten years since their infamous break-out record Walking On A Dream, with the Australian dance pairing welcoming the anniversary by the album's first vinyl printing and the release of Chrysalis, a previously unreleased single that holds our attention until their next piece of work. It's basically your standard Empire of the Sun single executed with their signature polish and shine, bringing together this soaring vocal and a funk-fuelled, synth-heavy production which oozes with that classic Empire of the Sun grace. Here's hoping their next piece of work isn't too far away.

Dugong Jr - Holding On feat. Austen

When it comes to Melbourne's Dugong Jr, it's quality over quantity, with a limited run of releases across the past year or two - 2018's stand-alone single Voyager and 2017's White Hearts EP - giving us a slick take on his signature, light-hearted electro-pop, mixing soul-tinged productions of funk-inspired electronic and bright guest vocals with a certain polish we've come to expect from Dugong Jr over the last few years. His latest single, Holding On, is no different, welcoming Brisbane vocalist and recent Pilerats favourite Austen to the plate for a track that really fleshes out that funk/hip-hop blend through its Kaytranada-esque bass kicks, uniting them with subtle synth melodies and Austen's floating vocal for a really smooth and well-constructed return. "The song itself is about the idea of creating this sort of idealistic image of what a relationship is or was, kind of living in denial and holding on to that even if it's detrimental to an individual," he says on the single, which thankfully, arrives with the promise of more in 2019 - stay tuned.

LEISURE - Easy Way Out

New Zealand band LEISURE have been going from strength to strength recently, with a slick run of singles ever since last year's Feeling Free welcoming a new era for the group; an era marked with soulful funk-house productions and shimmering vocals that time and time again, completely win us over. Their latest single Easy Way Out continues this trend, with sultry synth melodies mixing with the band's subtle and hazy vocal to create this really nice piece of slick funk-pop - something their forthcoming, long-awaited second album is sure to highlight. There's a lot more on the way and the band are seemingly only getting better and better, so keep an eye out for what's bound to be one of the year's unexpectedly great new albums when it arrives in a few months time.

Yoste - Empty

Brisbane producer Yoste is someone we haven't really gotten on board with yet, but after listening to his latest single Empty, consider us front in line with a ticket in hand. It's a shimmering down-tempo single that combines this soft, haunting melody with Yoste's vocal, which gently slides in over the top of the production which even in its most climactic moments, sits within a chiller side of electronic comparable to names like Kidswaste and Golden Vessel. It's from an upcoming EP due February 15th, more on that soon, but with its soft melodies and entrancing vibe, we can't wait to hear a lot, lot more. "It's about recognising that I will never fully understand most of myself or what's around me, but there's peace in not knowing," he says on the single. "I wanted to counterbalance those quite heavy ruminations with positive instrumentation, something people could dance to and not necessarily think about. That's quite key to my approach in general - I want all the songs to have depth for those who care to look, but I don't want to beat anyone over the head with my esoteric angst."