YDS is out now!
Image: Billy Zammit.
Sydney-based artist Somber Hills has dropped his new single, YDS. To celebrate the release, the musician has shared with MILKY five tracks that have influenced his genre-bending sound.
“Time moves so fast and the moments we love and cherish escape us so quick,” the musician shares. “Our motives and goals may stay the same but time will not wait, and if in a year you haven’t done enough to get where you’re trying to go, it’s gone, you’ll never get the time back. I had a painful year, but in the pain there’s learning and I learned that to truly enjoy what I’m doing I have to embrace who I am and not focus on what someone else thinks.”
FOR A PESSIMIST, I’M PRETTY OPTIMISTIC - PARAMORE (RIOT)
I used to listen to Paramore when I was learning guitar as a kid and never paid much attention to the actual content of the songs. Just before I started writing all this new music late 2022/early 23 I was looking for inspiration in nostalgia and this record has been on repeat since. The structure of this song in particular just keeps me amped and the mix across the record is insane.
DRUGS YOU SHOULD TRY IT - TRAVIS SCOTT (DAYS BEFORE RODEO)
This song is a core memory for me. When I was eighteen I moved cities in New Zealand after being kicked out of my place. I wanted to be a producer at this point. One of my many nights couch surfing back then I was super baked and listened to this album before sleeping. When this song came on I was shook to the core. The vocal production blended with the wild percussion choices had me trying to replicate this kind of sound for months. At the time it felt like this song literally changed the way my brain worked.
TRIPLE DOUBLE - JEAN DAWSON FT ASAP ROCKY
The way ASAP Rocky and and Jean Dawson compliment each others style sounds like they are two sides to one person, and that’s how I feel every time I approach a song. Hearing this record reaffirmed ideas I had for the upcoming records I was writing too. I’ve fallen in love with music from artists like the Smashing Pumpkins and felt the same love for music by artists like ASAP Rocky. I think this song just sits in the perfect pocket for me between worlds. Also the hook, we all feel that sometimes.
SAYONARA - ARIES (WELCOME HOME)
Sayonara came into my life at the perfect time and sent me into overdrive. Before I moved to Australia I hit wall creatively with the style I was working on. When I saw the music video and found out he was a producer/artist also I had an overwhelming sense of urgency to work harder because it looked so easy to this random dude ahaha. I still feel motivated every time I hear any Aries song but, since this song was released I haven’t felt that empty lost feeling creatively. It was perfect timing.
DEL MAR COUNTY FAIR 2008 - UNDERSCORES & MAXWELL YOUNG (FISHMONGER)
I stumbled upon Underscores in a writing session. Sometimes I jump on YouTube and listen to music when setting up to get me feeling creative. When this album started playing I instantly knew I would be learning from this project. This song in particular doesn’t follow any rules, it just flows and swells as it wishes. It’s beautiful. This song inspired me to break more rules and jump in and out of genres or moods whenever I want to because that’s what music is: limitless expression.
YDS is out now!