MÒZÂMBÎQÚE, or Andrew Smith to his mother, his favorite critic who says his music is “very nice,” is not necessarily new to music. His upcoming album For Never and Ever is his debut under this MÒZÂMBÎQÚE iteration, but Smith has grown up with music and made his life travelling the world to learn new and different disciplines. Still, with an upbringing in instrumental jazz and having learned multiple drumming techniques in Africa, India and Asia, it’s surprising that he would land on electronica for his first album. With Smith’s fascination with dream pop and ambient artists like Tycho, Aphex Twin and Com Truise, however, that’s exactly where he landed.
It seems Smith as MÒZÂMBÎQÚE made a good choice with For Never and Ever, as it’s a highly polished marriage of dream pop, ambient electronica and more EDM-tinged genres like bass house and even hardstyle. The album comes out in late July, but a series of singles and videos is being released in the meantime. “Language” featuring vocalist Jordan Corey was the first such single, released way back in December. A beautiful intro to MÒZÂMBÎQÚE’s style, “Language” is definitely in the dream pop wheelhouse.
More recently, “Kenopsia” came out more recently in late May. This single is definitely along the lines of Tycho musically, with 80s-inspired synths and drums and a spoken female vocal that is both eerie and sexual. Like its predecessor “Launguage,” the video for “Kenopsia” is full of beautiful fractals but also cutaways to images of mysterious places in the world. Being the lover of travel that Smith is, the video explains itself.
“Bridges” is the newest single for MÒZÂMBÎQÚE to drop just two weeks ago, and it begins to give audiences a glimpse into his EDM chops. Still very dreamy, ambient and 80s-influenced, “Bridges” is definitely made for the dancefloor as it toggles back and forth between tribal house and dubstep beat structures. “Bridges” is in fact perfect for the more psychedelic of the festivals this season, and would be perfect for something like Electric Forest or Lightning in a Bottle. One can almost picture psychedelic lights flashing different colors all around in a beautiful natural setting. The video for this one will likely be gorgeous, if past MÒZÂMBÎQÚE video precedent is anything to go by.
“Language,” “Kenopsia” and “Bridges” provide a good cross-section of the different styles fans will be able to find on For Never and Ever once it comes out. MÒZÂMBÎQÚE’s Soundcloud also features two other singles from the album: the purely ambient “Distance” featuring Lone Kodiak and another housey track called “Chasing Weather.” It seems Smith likes collabs, as there are more than a few on the album, so he will likely also be remixed and it will be really interesting to see what happens once the EDM world gets wind of him. Definitely one to watch for those who love ambient and dream pop/EDM crossover.
For Never and Ever releases July 20, and at least three more singles will drop prior to that full release so keep an eye on MÒZÂMBÎQÚE’s Bandcamp and Soundcloud pages, and especially his YouTube channel for many more videos.
