Color Theory sees music through his own unique lens.
The sounds he makes are cast through that filter – one of a deep love for the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Baths – resulting in a style he calls “melancholy synthwave”. It’s akin to Kavinsky, The Midnight or Gunship, but closer listening reveals a unique style that’s all his own.
Brian Hazard (aka Color Theory) was raised in sunny California, striking out in music as the pianist in his high school jazz band, before studying Piano Performance at degree level – it’s this musical expertise that allows him to flex and bend retro sounds to his own contemporary ends.
Latest track ‘Juggernaut’ reflects this knack for adapting sounds. A brooding undercurrent of '80s references – those Depeche Mode and The Cure sounds he holds so dear – swooping synths and nostalgic keys make for a bittersweet mood, while Hazard’s soaring, yearning vocals are touching and emotive.
It’s both retro and contemporary, familiar yet fresh.
The track is the B-side to previous single ‘This Whole Nothing’, a contemplative song finding inspiration in blank space and filling it with electronic embellishments and gently rolling synths.
“My inspiration was the spacious emptiness one experiences when the voice of the mind quiets ,” says Color Theory, of the driving force behind the release. “And the world can be seen as it truly is.”
Clash can exclusively share ‘Juggernaut’. Tune in now.
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