From Australian duo Yulan & Blaise’s forthcoming debut EP, the new single ‘Quench’ is a mesmerising alt-pop lullaby that pulls the listener into a world of the uncanny and the off-kilter. Infused with bossa nova and downtempo influences, this atmospheric track is built around Yulan’s floating angelic vocals. Adding to this narrative of otherworldly intimacy, is a textured electronica backdrop where pop melodies weave their way through an eclectic sonic palette of Omnichord, toy piano, shakuhachi, mezzo soprano and contrabass saxophones. Elsewhere, Yulan’s heartbeat is woven into the kick drum, pairing a human instinct with this musical object.

While unusual on paper, all these songwriting, arrangement and production choices undoubtedly enhance the surreal, cinematic paradox of desire that sits at the centre of ‘Quench’. The lyrics move through a cycle of emotions from comfort to claustrophobia to addiction to devotion to even those feelings that don’t quite have a name. This deep-dive into emotional discord is also reflected in the music video, directed by Gabriel Morrison, in which both Yulan and Blaise wander through the visual embodiment of “cotton candy brain fog”. It’s a looping pastel dreamscape that sits somewhere in between Danny Boyle’s gritty realities and Sofia Coppola’s opulent aesthetics. There’s no way to easily define this fiercely original offering from Yulan & Blaise, so take a few minutes to watch the video below and draw your own conclusions.

“Quench is about being trapped in a soft-focus ‘in-between’ that’s both comforting and paralysing,
where nothing is fully quenched,” says Yulan, “I wrote it as a way to convey how it feels to be
caught in cycles of addiction or attachment that loop back on themselves like a recurring dream
—tender and suffocating, like cotton candy brain fog.”

Follow Yulan & Blaise on Instagram.