One of the latest synth pop projects to hit the streets of California is Far West with the aim of spreading happy vibes through washed-out dream pop and groovy electronica.
Started by Ryan Settles in 2019 and with his first release in January 2020, the writer and producer, based in Santa Cruz, is back this year with his fourth single ‘Back Together’.
Ryan was previously in a post-punk band called Cedar Park but when they split, Ryan was left with a head full of songs and nowhere to share them. So from heavy/dark punk, his music has turned full-circle to the opposite spectrum as Far West.
Each single focuses on different elements, like debut single ‘Can’t Let Go’ where Ryan’s vocals sound like Matt and Kim to ‘Fall Into You’ and ‘Maybe’ which bring out his raw guitars.
Don’t try to find happiness, create it.
Ryan Settles (Far West)
‘Back Together’ is upbeat and bright synthpop at its finest. There’s tonnes of cool vocal layers and experimental aesthetics which bring Far West into his own.
Speaking about the single, Ryan said: “‘Back Together’ is an upbeat and bright synthpop song about trying to accept something you feel is right, but past experiences make it hard.
“This is my most creative in terms of sampling other peoples voices.
“I sang the verses, but had a lot of fun layering in other voices that had cool tones throughout the song, including a vocoder.
“There are a lot of different synth tones and guitars I experimented with as well.”
Inspired by the likes of M83, Day Wave and The 1975, Far West is constantly pushing the boundaries further and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
