Equals – Daylight Dreaming [Audio]

“Daylight Dreaming” is the fourth release from East London’s Equals. The band have been locked away in their studio for the last six months working on a huge wave of exciting new music, with the addition of more live players to the band adding a new dimension to their already acclaimed Electronic Soul sound. “Daylight Dreaming” is the first to burst out of the studio, combining live bass from Chris Hargreaves (Submotion Orchestra) with production from Loxe, responsible for some of the highlights from Nao’s incredible “For All We Know” LP in 2016. The track rides an insistent, rolling bassline from Hargreaves until crashing in to a show-stopping chorus over a waterfall of colourful synths. Vocalist Ade Omotayo delivers one of his finest vocal performances to date, no doubt honed by being part of the Gorillas’ brand new live band for the album “Humanz”. As with all Equals material scratch the surface and there is something deeper lying under the groove. The lyrics are inspired by an old Ian Curtis quote, “I used to work in a factory and I was really happy because i could daydream all day”. That quote inspired James from the band to think about how, “how difficult it’s become to daydream now that our jobs take up so much headspace and we’re plugged into cyberspace 24/7 through Smartphones.”, James explains, “I challenged myself to go for a cold walk in the snow, notice what was going on around me and let my mind wander. I wrote the whole song on the walk – so the song is about what it would be like to daydream again.” The lyrics also took a cue from writer and critic Mark Fisher aka K-punk. James was a friend, and influenced by a talk he saw in London last year before Mark sadly passed away later in the year. Mark’s speech contained some unsettling warnings about modern life as he saw it, including the quote, “The dream we live in in Britain is a constant anxiety dream, dominated by urgencies.” That quote appears as a sample at the start of the track with the blessing of Mark’s family. “Daylight Dreaming” is the perfect balance of a restless, up-beat track with something deeper happening below to surface for those who choose to look.