It feels like it has been such a long time since Empty Pockets first appeared on our site with the third-ever Mapzzz EP. Clearly, a lot has changed since then, as a tendency towards glistening chillwave and slow-motion electro-pop has given way to a more reserved aesthetic—somewhere between stoney new-new age, textured beatsmithing, and maybe even a touch of cloud rap. Regardless the aim, we like what we’re hearing, and this new (albeit poorly titled) tune is a step in a direction we’re happy to follow.

Maybe it’s because we’ve gotten a nice dose of warmth around the Bay lately (hopefully foreshadowing the summer days to come), or maybe it’s because we’re just suckers for a good hook, but something about this EP—the debut from Los Angeles outfit Blacks& (get it? black sand)—struck us just right. From the beginning, it looks like A Ghost That Follows Me is a little too heavy on the “cute” vibes, but the songs prove to be smart, infectious, and touched with just the right amount of kitsch—reminding us that we don’t always need to be so gersh darn serious! For our money, the EP’s highlight comes last, with the somehow light yet heavenly pop of “Tonight.”  The whole affair can be streamed/downloaded for free below.

We first got hip to up-and-comer Morning High when he appeared alongside REKChampa for a tune on the recent West In Dust label compilation, and we’ve been keeping an eye on the man’s output ever since.”Melancholia” is perhaps the most impressive track to surface from the young producer’s recent wave of SoundCloud freebies, with its low slung beat and thick, fuzzy chords complimented perfectly by a series of tender melodies and just the right touch of washed out vocal chops.

It’s unfortunately been way too long since we last heard from Ander, but understandably so, as the man had to pack up and leave his Oakland family (us nerdy beatmakers) behind in order to start a new one (a real family this time) in the beautiful state of Colorado. As you can imagine, we were pretty excited to see Ander’s name appear on this remix of “Era of Wind” from Some Ember’s recent debut outing, Hotel of Lost Light.  Well, we were even more excited when we finally got a chance to hear it. Not for the faint of heart, this one clocks in at a jaw-dropping 11-plus minutes—but it is worth every second as Ander pits chopped-and-glitched breaks from a forgotten IDM heyday against an absolutely beautiful soundscape of droning strings, vast pads, re-purposed vocals, and other distant trappings. We missed you Ander, but as long as you keep hitting us with gems like this every so often, we’ll happily wait for more.