Premiere: San Mei carves a bright future with Love In The Dark

The forward-thinking alt-pop gem will also showcase at Austin institution SXSW next year - for the second time.

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Header image by Joshua Bilhan for Level.

With every release she's given us over the last few years, we've felt slightly closer to working out what exactly San Mei's future in the Australian pop landscape looks like. However, with every single thing she releases afterwards, she seemingly flips our conceptions and thoughts over, proving that she's a force that can't be placed within a box nor defined by a sound. In fact, that's something we've really come to love from San over the years, whether it be through collaborations with names including Wongo of a catalogue of solo work that stretches between singles and EPs.

In 2019, as she continues to strive with consistency and class, this is something that's seemingly continuing. After releasing her four-track Heaven EP last year, she's followed it up with Something Good and now Love In The Dark, two singles that really showcase the brilliance of San Mei and her versatility as an artist, as well as her ability to constantly think outside of the box and grasp new ideas built from evolution and experimentation - it's what she does best.

Love In The Dark, premiering on Pilerats today, is a glitchy alt-pop tune both forward-thinking and hyper-experimental, clashing the slight teases of electronica from her past work with guitar-built dream-pop that's heavenly and washed-out, yet also fierce and focused with the precision of San Mei's past work. "For me, this is to do with my faith," she says on the single, which as she explains, tackles the idea of keeping things about yourself out of the public eye as a result of anxiety and in a way, self-consciousness.

"I often struggle to have the confidence to even acknowledge my beliefs around others, especially in the music industry, out of fear that I might look foolish, outdated, or like an outsider," she explains. "But I’m realising that having the courage to be transparent about something that forms part of your identity is really important. No matter what their ‘something’ is that they have felt they’ve needed to hide, I hope they can eventually find their own confidence to come out of the dark."

Catch San Mei supporting Ali Barter on her remaining national tour dates across November, and if you're going to be around, catch her at SXSW, where she is joining a strong contingent heading over to Austin for the mega-festival next year. Grab the track here.