Anatole's Only One is a masterclass of intricate electronica

At the tail-end of last year, Sydney multi-instrumentalist and musician Anatole shared Outgrown, a dreamy collaboration with Big Scary's Tom Iansek. "I think it mirrors the progression in my music," said Anatole on its release, describing how his sound has evolved and grown over the years. "I feel like I’m growing with every new song I write, and then see it connect and lead to new opportunities on the other side of the world." Only One is his latest single, and it further showcases this evolution of Anatole's sound, enlisting Ida for a pop-centric slice of intricate electronica which sports a sound and complexity similar to work by highly regarded electronic musicians such as Bonobo and Chrome Sparks.

Anatole's washed out and percussion-soaked production is the star of Only One, with each individual sheet of chiming melodies, snapping percussion and warping bass painstakingly layered over one another to create this really complicated instrumental, which somehow, despite its complexity, manages to flow without feeling too cloggy or weighed down. Ida's emotive vocals come over the top to offer some form of relief from Anatole's dense production, swooning away to give Only One this uncharacteristic pop edge which Anatole really makes his own despite being quite unfamiliar with the sound through his released works thus far.

"This was the first track written for the album and ended up serving as a catalyst for new ideas and sounds for the rest of the record," says Anatole on the single. "This is my version of a maximalist pop song - or rather what I want out of a pop song, catchy hooks and honest emotion. To me, both the lyrics and music serve a dual purpose - The bright and shiny exteriors which are apparent on first listen make way for many other ideas and feelings after multiple listens."

Anatole's debut album will arrive through Mercury KX in May. In the meantime, catch him supporting No Mono at The Landsdowne on February 15/16 before he jets off to the UK for shows with Solomon Grey and Braille Face.

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