artists

desert sand feels warm at night

Among the most electrifying voices of the emergent modern electronic music scene is desert sand feels warm at night, the pseudonym of UK musician William Hallworth-Cook. Desert sand feels warm at night is one of the pioneers of the vaporwave “slushwave” subgenre, a style popularized by t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者.

Melding the holistic, layered ambience of slushwave with the melodic worldbuilding of dreampunk, desert sand’s breathtaking work transports listeners to futuristic cities, naturalistic vistas and lonely highways. Active since 2018, Desert has released over a dozen albums on several different record labels.

In 2024, desert sand feels warm at night released 鹿児島砂漠, a dark ambient/slushwave drone project in collaboration with ⦓🍊⦔ タンジェリン. He is also one half of “沙漠鱿鱼“, along with Uncle Squidz. Together they created dreampunk ambient classic “上海／香港” , which released on Hiraeth Records in 2020.

Releases

沙漠鱿鱼 – 上海／香港

“沙漠鱿鱼” is a collaboration project between Desert Sand Feels Warm at Night and Uncle Squidz. On their debut album “上海／香港” (Shanghai / Hong Kong) both artists take us to the neon lit streets of Shanghai and Hong Kong, where rain keeps on falling and falling. The sound can be best described as distant melodies and slow evolving pads that are building up to a true dreampunk slush dream.

Using wet reverb, slowed-down vocals reminiscent of Blade Runner, and dreamy synths, 沙漠鱿鱼 crafted a soundtrack for both Shanghai and Hong Kong. Field recordings of bustling streets anchor the listener in the heart of these metropolises, creating an immersive cityscape experience that’s hard to escape.

The album has been produced in 2019 by both artists after they met on Twitter and briefly exchanged messages, they soon found out they both wanted to work on a project. The sound they created is a blend between their existing styles which is heavily based around ambient and slushwave music, taking ideas from vaporwave such as sample manipulation and incorporating them into lush soundscapes. Both sides of the album are dedicated to each respective city; Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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鹿児島砂漠

A prolific slushwave pioneer meets with a mysterious ambient artist, embracing you as they sleepily walk through dark, loamy textures, beckoned by distant voices that ameliorate like mirages, buffeting atop a cool, calming breeze.

Hiraeth Records present 鹿児島砂漠 (Kagoshima Desert), a sonic journey and collaborative release by popular artist desert sand feels warm at night and elusive producer ⦓🍊⦔ タンジェリン, fit with swirling tracks decorated with fine shimmering textures.

A unique sound, borrowing heavily from slushwave as well as more challenging genres like the unorthodox sampling style of post-vaporwave and the uncanny atmosphere of dark ambient, the artists drape elongated ballad-like instrumentation over patiently swaying percussion. Soundscapes smoulder with warmth and a welcoming tone in front of you, quietly playing out under a cool twilight sky as notes and beats stretch up through the darkness above.

You are swayed gently on an ambient breeze, your eyes squinting slightly as the wind’s soft edge sprays fine sparkling sand into the ether, swirling with a slushwave brilliance in the foreground of your view. The visage rolling and blossoming modestly in the night as desert sand feels warm at night and ⦓🍊⦔ タンジェリン project beautiful piano-led slowjams up into the balmy air above you.