NEW SOUNDS OUT WEST
Image: He is Peter (@heispeter)
Many Western Sydney artists tend to sit underneath the clamour of more vocal rappers and emcee’s - but if you look hard enough, you may be rewarded with some hidden gems. I stumbled across peter. (@heispeter) after spending hours trawling through SoundCloud. It wasn’t epiphanic, but I found myself returning to his most recent ‘In & Out / Sweet Enough’ EP enough times to make it feel that way. Going through his discography was something of a relief. Maybe it was the bare bones approach (one with minimalistic production) that let his voice dance on tracks like ‘Sink Demo’.
The introspective ‘Sweet Enough’ makes full use of this minimalism, with subtle vocal pitching climaxing in a gorgeous harmony at the track’s close. Enlisting his own talents, as well as those of SOLLYY (@gwsollyy), to produce his EP, peter. combines the haunting theatrics of Snoh Aalegra, with the maturity of older artists such as Usher. ‘Creating…’ reads his Instagram bio, with an insightful Triple J Unearthed reviewer noting the influence of Frank Ocean on his work. Let’s hope he doesn’t emulate the American singer’s propensity to test his fans’ patience, but if his current work is anything to go by, peter. will make it worth our wait.
Image: Laura Ranola (@lauranola)
Clarissa Mei’s (@clarissamei) ‘Point of View’ video is a neon dream. Paying homage to the visuals of the 80’s isn’t something artists can usually pull off, but the gentle haziness and montaged scenes pair well with the intensity of the track. I remember discovering her music through a friend and being impressed by her raw honesty. Cuts like ‘Can’t Breathe’ disguise confusion and frustration under a misty, Rhodes driven beat. Perhaps Clarissa’s most powerful work is her haunting ballad ‘Worthy’, a truthful, heaven-ward dialogue placed in the centre of her ‘Vulnerable‘ EP.
She stays faithful to her dreamy sonic aesthetic for the majority of her tracks, departing only to add her soulful spin on a handful of covers. She shows her aptitude for classic R’n’B on her rendition of ‘Smooth Operator’, as well as putting together her own arrangement for a cover of India Arie’s ‘Get It Together’.
Clarissa represents the reality of many Western Sydney artists: the perfect combination of ability and following. With dedication, she can only work towards more success. At such an early stage, her and peter. are sure to become local legends.
