Washa
You might recall our introduction to WASHA, oka Dwight Pendleton, right around the release of the debut album The Bright and it is our pleasure & privilege today to present you with the world premiere of the Brooklyn artist’s new single “Still”. Proving to be one of Dwight’s most sensational productions yet—”Still” arrives as the result of a variety of WASHA songs penned over the course of 2016 with today’s debuted track being the the final installment of this cycle. In our recent conversation Dwight told us that he indeed will be taking a break from playing shows after this release, as he begins the process of working on a new album. The music of WASHA is one that takes the listener & observer deep down into those places of the deepest pensive levels of thought & feeling. Ruminations over identity, place, comfort, connection & more are exhibited in a naked manner illuminated by an illustrious arrangement of electronic items of instrumentation.
It is those sacred spaces of the interior that “Still” retreats to, where WASHA makes a digitally padded next as a sanctuary of blessed solace as shelter from the storm. The electronic rhythm patterns lead the evocative synths in that plink & hum against the understated rhythms that rumble & trickle like water streaming through a rocky brook. Questions of what one was meant to be or meant to see play about like visions, and inquiries into awakening & discovering new senses & understanding the complicated composites that make an individual’s consciousness. The thoughtful mix of restraint tones & personal, honest delivery create a mood for late evenings where existential & immediate thoughts race about the private theater of the mind’s eye & ear where constant questions about what a person is supposed to be in this life spin around to a dizzying effect like watching the content of dreams seen through the slats of a vintage zoetrope wheel. WASHA exhibits the most intimate facets of feelings that are told through echos & edits of shuddering vocals that pan from channel to channel amid the calming production motifs that make up the beautiful, sleepy-eyed & solemn beauty of “Still”.
Dwight Pendleton provided us with some reflections both on 2016 and the future of the artist’s music with the following words:
In the past year, I recorded around 20 would-be singles for the series of pop songs I planned on releasing throughout the year. However as I finished each song, I continually desired for something better. I didn’t want to just release something for the sake of having new material released. “Still” is the result of a year’s worth of trial and error in my personal writing and production. My whole reasoning behind releasing pop songs was not only to release something that anyone could enjoy, but also to give myself time to process where I wanted to be musically for a second album.
Coming into the new year I can say with absolute confidence that I am in the exact place I want to be to start the writing process for the next album. It will sound nothing like the pop songs, but delve deeper into songs such as “I Have Nothing Left To Carry” & “Bury Our Love”. I have an idea for the sound-more industrial, abrasive, intense—but as for the actual songs themselves, I plan on taking my time before I can sit back on any established work.
The song “Still” is about personal growth and identity and coincidentally summarizes my year of 2016 as a whole quite well in the lyrics. The artwork was designed by my personal friend and Brooklyn photographer Jonathan Schoonover and his wife, Stephanie Dimiskovski. On the side, you should definitely check out their work.
Listen to more from WASHA via Soundcloud & Spotify.
