Smoke Midi and the potent memory inducing hip and moving collage of "Clear My Head"

 

"Burning and building as fast as I can / Burning and building as fast as I can / Then it takes me by 
surprise / It's time to say goodbye..."


The potent memory inducing hip and moving collage of "Clear My Head", by Bangor Maine experimental artist Smoke Midi, somehow pushes past the terrors of the world and seeps into you brain. The choice of swelling sounds against a crunchy sort of machine beat, that beautifully feels super solid but also feels like it's holding hands with that old Casio SA35 that's in the back of your closet, draws you in but there is so much more. The pregnant pauses filled with glacially sad synth keys, the atmospheric sense of field recordings and of literal of time bending, all as a framework for potent melancholy storytelling by way of a vocal that feels intimate but caught in those time bends and thus altered in the transmissions. 

This electronic tropicalia blending somber pop, dream pop, lo-fi, drum machines, and possibly clips from old movies is masterfully blended, like a sound drug to propel you to places in your mind that you may have forgotten but are easy to come back to. Moments in your own stream of consciousness spurred on by Smoke Midi's. 

Midi's true words:

[A new psychedelic tune from my latest epic 'Anytime'. The song is a slow build that rewards the listener for staying around.]

Lyrics

(no more screams)

Burning and building as fast as I can
Then it takes me by surprise
It's time to say goodbye
Worried that you'll leave
Distract myself for awhile
Call you up on a gloomy night
Voice of reason bear with me
Time apart like tortured light
Swimming with the sharks
Depressions teeth gnaw at me
Then it hits me like a brick
It's time to say goodbye
What am I supposed to do
With all these details
Put on my winter hat
Forget about a relapse
The urges they'll fall flat

Last week I went crazy working myself to death
It sounds a little bit selfish being the one who ended it
Wish I could laugh, so low in the trash
My head is spinning I feel insignificant
What am I supposed to do with all these details about you
In the clear blue
Effervescence
Water

reaching for something in the distance

I just don't know what

Listen to "Clear My Head", late at night with no interruption, preferably with closed cup headphones. 

Be good

-Robb Donker Curtius




The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6zSYy23V3Pv6ZwEB3bpR5N

https://smokemidi.bandcamp.com/album/anytime

https://www.youtube.com/c/SmokeMidi


Smoke Midi crafts sonic abstractions that floats between post-punk, windy rock, and psychedelic. Driven by crunchy drum machines, fragmented poetry, and an ever-shifting experimental spirit, their music moves with the seasons—sometimes raw and stormy, sometimes dreamlike and surreal. From Maine to outer space, Smoke Midi weaves cosmic threads into sound, blending textured rhythms, ethereal melodies, and bursts of controlled chaos. Inspired by DIY spirits and the sensory richness of fruity and floral dishes, their sound is both visceral and otherworldly - a journey through analog and digital alike.