Eyesix EP ReviewNostalgia is something often sought after in music by artists and listeners alike. From replicating sounds in revival movements to just simply listening to an old album that you haven’t in a while, this evocation can be quite hard to find and convey. Hidden somewhere in between the Douglas firs of Galway is the electronic producer Eyesix, and his music effortlessly oozes this nostalgic sentimentality. Eyesix’s self-titled début EP released on Sparkwood Records runs just over twenty minutes and contains five tracks filled with mystery.

Immediately noticeable on this EP are the Boards of Canada and Tycho influence through the synthesizers, field recordings and warm textures. The palette Eyesix paints with on this record has its fair share of natural and vibrant colours, like the standout Soylent Green. As expected from the title, the track feels like something from a ‘70s sci-fi film montage. With the guidance of soft melodies, these songs can take you through the space of a twenty-four hour winter’s day; setting the scenes from viewing the sun’s orange gleam splitting through the frosty trees to feeling the moon’s blue glow at dusk.

The emulated downtempo ambience done by so many artists in this genre before usually stems from producers simply trying to create perceived “natural” sounds, with their craft often suffering in the end – tunes unfortunately lacking direction and becoming lost in the fog they stirred up. However, Eyesix takes these familiar hazy sounds and builds something clear yet eerie; like the ethereal Habitat67, which gives the listener something haunting to think about over the suspiciously calm and driving beat.

Sure, this nostalgic ambiance has been done before, but you can’t really fault this EP when it pulls off the aesthetic not just successfully but also different enough to keep things interesting. Promising for a producer’s first release, it will be interesting to see if Eyesix sticks to his safe strengths or branches off into a strange but familiar territory in a different neck of the woods. If you get around to listening to this one, stick on a pair of headphones and wander around the countryside in the most secluded place you can.