Irish art-pop artist Æ MAK naturally subverts any preconceived notions of genre with a sound that unpicks the common threads between pop, folk, and electronic music and splices them together. On her new single “We Have It Right Here”, producer Daniel McIntyre creates gauzy sonic textures to drape over Aoife McCann’s distinctive vocals that drift and glide like a feather caught in the wind.
It’s a compelling mix with Æ MAK introducing subtle shades of acoustic guitar and chiming percussion as the song gracefully expands before unexpected, blinding bursts of synths explode like a galaxy of stars all simultaneously going supernova. It’s a wonderfully anarchic finish as clattering electronic beats, stabbing synths and vocal rhythms spin and clash before McCann leads the song to a calmer conclusion.
Lyrically, the song encourages us to take the time to look around and enjoy the things that make us happy, as McCann explains. “Sometimes nothing is ever enough to quench our thirst for happiness. These are the moments that allow nuggets of emotional and spiritual bliss. ‘We Have It Right Here’ is a reminder to calm down and roll around in what makes me happy, a soothing lullaby of sorts for all of us.”
With “We Have It Right Here” Æ MAK has succeeded in writing a memorable, lasting paean to the joy of just living in the moment.