The brilliant bliss pop compositions by San Francisco one-man band, Fiveng, are immediately infectious, especially for fans of Animal Collective and the long, long list of artists and bands that have made a name for themselves in the so-called chillwave genre; a genre that has quickly become one of the most popular and innovative styles of ‘new’ music in the latter half of the first decade of a new century.
But Fiveng, who is actually Nicholas Ng, is not merely one of the artists along for the ride; he is quickly establishing himself as a respected and amazingly talented artist of his own right. After listening to the five tracks that he has made available so far, Ng is easily one of the stand-outs in “chillwave revolution.”
Despite a much-earned, glowing endorsement from Pitchfork, and positive reviews on other blogs, Ng hasn’t really ‘hit it’ yet. The fact that none of the music junkies we know have ever heard of him is one indicator of that. Therefore, it’s our bet that a lot of people that come to this page over the next week or so are likely to be in for a pleasant surprise.
Ng’s musical arrangements are absolutely genius – from the blissed out synth key playing, xylophones, and Nature samples to shimmering guitars, exotic percussions and glorious vocal harmonies on par with Panda Bear‘s. It just blows our minds that this guy no one ever heard of before comes out of nowhere and throws down such brilliant and unforgettable music. Ng’s songs are pop jems that should be in every bloggers mixtapes and on every pop lovers iPod. The best place to start is with the track “Jonah”, a watery, summertime glo-pop masterpiece. That, and the glistening synth pop gem, “Easy”, are two of our favorite songs of the second half of 2010.
“Jonah” – Fiveng from debut 7″
“Give Me A Taste” – Fiveng from debut 7″
Check out his Bandcamp page and Fiveng’s MySpace page.
