Sportsman announces debut album Neverland with the nostalgic, '80s-referencing "Running On A Beach"

Taken from Neverland which will be released on 2 June via Best Fit Recordings, "Running On A Beach" is an evocative fever-dream, a liminal adventure between wake and sleep.

Whereas a band like Korallreven use Pacific tropical rhythms to create a paradise, Sportsman channels the haze and medicated fug of a Tanzanian morning to make something which is at first claustrophobic, then turning to rose-glow nostalgia.

Something of a love song to lost innocence, the track begins with echoing piano chords and splashes of cymbal before twinkling synth washes add a sort of sad colouring to proceedings. As Magnusson sings "runnin' on a beach, I can feel my heart beat, sand on my bare feet" there's a conflict at play; a need to leave the past behind, yet taking inspiration from it at the same time. The Swede says "I feel like I'm making this album as a final farewell to my childhood", and you can tell there's something very personal happening here.

This is glorious electronic pop and tender-hearted R&B from a musician who's waited more than half a decade to deliver his perfect vision. Neverland is going to take your breath away.