Premiere: 'Light (Radio edit)' on Bit-Phalanx // Derek Piotr

Photo by Christiana Rifaat

When we last spoke to Derek Piotr, he was preparing the release of Forest People Pop, a record Piotr described as his "shiny, complex pop record". But anyone expecting sing-a-longs and big drops is going to be disappointed. This is Pop done the Piotr way. The melodies are soapy and unfamiliar. They float around, orbiting an indiscernible chromatic structure. There are no hooks and no quick-fix resolutions to the discordant tensions.

So what, if anything, makes this pop? The production is presented in sickly-sweet glossiness, like a sticky lollipop wrapper. So there's that. And the lyrics pour out with deceptive simplicity. "I don't know what to do" Piotr croons on its lead single, 'Light'. But his despair is not too sincere. Earlier this year, Piotr disclosed that he believes "words do not matter to music". For a record self-described as pop, and one that professes to be a 'radio edit', the music below could hardly be described as a unit shifter. One wonders what it sounded like before its radio-friendly rework. "I sincerely think this shit is extremely commercial," Piotr once told me. "My brain must really be twisted."

'Light (Radio Edit)' will be available for download from bit-phalanx on 14th April, 2017.

• Published
• Apr 7, 2017

• Credits
• Words by Georgie_McVicar