Listen: Douglas Dare – “Swim”

Having toured the US with fellow Erased Tapes protégé Nils Frahm and released a well-received debut EP, it’s not hard to see how bustling these last six months have been for Douglas Dare.

The London-based singer-songwriter, who creates sonic gems through the aid of thumping pianos, has already unveiled the sparse, beat-heavy, “Nile” – a great exercise in escapism. Now on second single, “Swim”, Dare is dwelling into another darker section of our psyche.

The track centres around a spiralling, groove-bountiful piano, which, if taken on its own, could easily fit into an old-school house record. The electronic rhythm and heart of the track, paired with the piano, echo the labyrinthine feel of “Pyramid Song” by Radiohead. Dare chants with a dreamy, delicate cadence, while pulling the listener from the calm of a pool-side head-first into the erratic midst of a sea storm. It’s a wondrous, immersive track, displaying Dare’s Arcadian-inducing craft.

Dare’s debut album, Whelm, is out on 12 May via Erased Tapes Records.

You can catch the Dorset-born artist on two confirmed live dates, this year’s The Great Escape festival in Brighton (8 May) and at his album launch party at Birthdays, London, on 16 May.