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Belgian producer Sim Nagai continues his sonic wanderlust with Up North, a fifteen-track escapade that masterfully brings together vintage aesthetics and contemporary beat craftsmanship. His third album for Cold Busted, this collection flows like a half-remembered dream through landscapes familiar and strange, proving his quick ascent in the downtempo scene was no accident.
Among the highlights is "Love Explosion," where ringing melodies cascade over booming drum fills like summer rain on a tin roof. A siren's voice emerges through psychedelic flourishes, while snatches of turntable wizardry add complexity to the not-so-quiet storm. "Childhood Years” is another highlight, with its twinkling keyboards and jazzy boom-bap rhythm creating a river of memory that carries listeners downstream through moments of captured youth. The middle section shines particularly bright with "Your Smile," as jazz guitar and Rhodes keys transport listeners to a velvet-draped lounge where tomorrow's classics transform into shimmering funkiness. "Mystery Girl" arrives like a twisty ghost from the '80s dance-pop realm, its vocal hook "Girl I can't beat this mystery" echoing through time. "Another Summer With You" rounds out the highlights with dreamy filtering and indie-inspired guitar riffs, feeling like a midnight cruise in a neon-lit dreamscape.
Throughout Up North, Nagai demonstrates his gift for musical moments that buzz between nostalgia and newness, creating spaces where memory and imagination groove to the perfect beat. Go north, my friend!
1. Sim Nagai - Night Skies (2:57)
2. Sim Nagai - Love Explosion (2:09)
3. Sim Nagai - Lush (3:10)
4. Sim Nagai - Interlude (Gas Station) (1:39)
5. Sim Nagai - Childhood Years (3:36)
6. Sim Nagai - Hard Chilling (2:21)
7. Sim Nagai - Your Smile (2:02)
8. Sim Nagai - June 21st (2:15)
9. Sim Nagai - Mystery Girl (3:19)
10. Sim Nagai - Magic Highway (2:36)
11. Sim Nagai - Spacing (2:20)
12. Sim Nagai - Red Sun (2:11)
13. Sim Nagai - Another Summer With You (1:58)
14. Sim Nagai - If You're Wondering (2:06)
15. Sim Nagai - They Walked Into The Arms Of Time (3:36)
Mastered & Lacquers Cut by Misjah@24Mastering
Metal Processing by Futoneko
Pressed at Mobineko
ALL SONGS BELOW MADE POSSIBLE BY TRACKLIB
‘LOVE EXPLOSION’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘DEP’ AS PERFORMED BY JAVELIN
WRITTEN BY GEORGE LANGFORD & TOM VAN BUSKIRK
PUBLISHED BY ODND PUBLISHING
COURTESY OF LUAKA BOP
‘LUSH’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘NIGHT SMOOTHIE’ AS PERFORMED BY VICTOR FLICK
WRITTEN BY VICTOR FLICK & LESLIE HURDLE
PUBLISHED BY OCEAN RIDGE MUSIC 1
COURTESY OF PARRY MUSIC LIBRARY
‘CHILDHOOD YEARS’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘SOAP BUBBLES’ AS PERFORMED BY FABIO BORGAZZI FABOR
WRITTEN BY FABIO BORGAZZI
PUBLISHED BY FOUR FLIES SRL & MINSTREL EDIZIONI MUSICALI DI BORGAZZI MARIA GRAZIA S.A.S
‘HARD CHILLING’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘FLOWER RAIN’ AS PERFORMED BY GIANNI BREZZO
WRITTEN BY MARVIN HORSCH
PUBLISHED BY JABIBI PUBLISHING
‘YOUR SMILE’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘THE IMAGE OF YOU’ AS PERFORMED BY LATIN FACULTY
WRITTEN BY INGVI THOR KORMAKSSON
PUBLISHED BY MEDITERRANEAN SUN
& ‘WHEN TRUE LOVE COMES TO BE’ AS PERFORMED BY MIKE HANKS & THE DEL-FI'S
WRITTEN BY MIKE HANKS & JOSEPH HUNTER
PUBLISHED BY SWING BEAT SONGS, DIANNE DOONEY PUB, & MAH'S PUBLISHING CO
‘JUNE 21ST’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘BEIRUT’ AS PERFORMED BY J. LAMOTTA
WRITTEN BY MARVIN HORSCH & ROTEM ALAGEM
PUBLISHED BY JABIBI PUBLISHING
‘MYSTERY GIRL’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘LOVELAND’ AS PERFORMED BY DOUG HREAM BLUNT
WRITTEN BY DOUG HREAM BLUNT
PUBLISHED BY SHAKE BOOM
‘MAGIC HIGHWAY’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘AN ITALIAN AFTERNOON’ AS PERFORMED BY SINJ CLARKE
WRITTEN BY SINJ CLARKE
‘SPACING’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘SWISS FRANC’ AS PERFORMED BY MASTON
WRITTEN BY MASTON FRANK
‘RED SUN’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘ZEHRA’ AS PERFORMED BY 43.75
WRITTEN BY TANER ONGUR
‘ANOTHER SUMMER WITH YOU’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘BOOMBOP’ AS PERFORMED BY DAN LISSVIK
WRITTEN BY DAN LISSVIK
PUBLISHED BY INFERNO 666 MUSIC PUBLISHING
‘IF YOU'RE WONDERING’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘NOW I NEED YOU’ AS PERFORMED BY THE FEMININE COMPLEX
WRITTEN BY MINDY DALTON
PUBLISHED BY SEED SOUP SONGS
‘THEY WALKED INTO THE ARMS OF TIME’ CONTAINS A SAMPLE OF ‘HIDDEN DEPTHS’ AS PERFORMED BY THE HOWARD HUGHES SUITE
WRITTEN BY RICHARD CASWELL
PUBLISHED BY SENTRIC MUSIC SONGS