With each passing summer our hit radio singles, iTunes chart-toppers, and festival headliners trend more and more toward electronic. If your beach days and road trips are now associated more with EDM than the Beach Boys or the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Onyx Moon by Portland, Maine electronic pop duo Port of Est is an indie release worth adding to your summer playlist.
The nine-track album--released on their own label, Delphinium Music, earlier this year--was mixed by Jonathan Wyman and mastered by multi Grammy Award-winner Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering in the band's hometown. The duo consists of vocalist Hannah Tarkinson and producer Todd Kitchens.
"Our music is electronic at its core, but has an unmistakable analog vibe," Kitchens says. "This allows us to maintain a hands-on creative approach that provides room for spontaneity and fresh ideas."
"We want people to feel like they stumbled upon a sonic landscape that is both subtle and blindingly intense."
The LP's debut track, "Valentine In My Headphones," featured below, exemplifies the band's transportive and cinematic nature. The official video was directed by film and animation artist Nancy Andrews and her video animation students at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine.