Washed Out is a blow out — “Belong”

I have a new obsession and it’s called Washed Out. The man behind the music is Ernest Greene and he hails from Macon, Georgia. I spent some time traveling to Savannah, GA during my college years and I can tell you that the slow grooves felt throughout his music is a perfect back drop to the Georgia lifestyle.

As noted in his Pitchfork interview, he grew up in a very rural part of Georgia where peaches flow like wine. This rustic environment may have led to one of the strong points on his songs which is the muffled production that creates a lo-fi, muddled sound. Like a tape that’s been sitting in the back seat of your car for too long, melting in the sun.

Speaking of tapes, he’s releasing a cassette-only release on a small label from Charleston called Mirror Universe.  As of his interview with p-fork, they were only set on releasing 100 copies. By the sounds of the voices calling out from the online universe, that is not nearly enough.

But do not fret, most of his music is available digitally and also on vinyl. I highly recommend you check out his EP, Life of Leisure, which is available in places like eMusic.

A track not found on the latter EP, “Belong”, is what first beckoned me to learn more about this southern musician. It encompasses all that is great with 80’s synth-pop and then some. There’s so much reverb and echo on his vocals that there’s no helping your mind from being pulled into submission. From there, the beats and bass pound away till your legs, feet and arms subconsciously flow in unison.

Download & Listen: “Belong”

Buy Washed Out music: (eMusic) (Amazon)

Washed Out is on the Mexican Summer label which is an off shoot from Kemado Records.