Is it just me, or has Steve Nguyen once again created something that doesn’t fit into the usual lo-fi mold? Escena first sounds simple, even familiar. But as you sink in… there they are – those vocal samples, gentle like a tropical breeze playing on the edge of reality and dream. They appear here and there, barely illuminating the melody at times, then suddenly flaring up in the foreground. And alongside them – the electric piano, stretched almost in time itself, delivering chords reminiscent of progressive melodic, yet cooled by icy cubes of lo-fi rhythm.
If you enjoy Steve Nguyen’s music, learn more about him in our interview with the artist.
And the rhythm… it flows so naturally that you immediately sense the balance between intriguing percussion and the calm of the melody. After the first minute, the drums gain color, becoming not just rhythm, but an inner current that pushes you forward. And you’re no longer just listening, you’re traveling – an evening road, a gentle breeze, the light of lanterns scattering around. It doesn’t matter where the path leads, because the journey itself is the adventure, and Escena smells exactly like that.
It’s as if mint met cherry blossoms – fresh, playful, and at the same time soothing. The light electronic sounds add a sense of playfulness: as if you’re in your own arcade, where each level is another page of your life. And somehow, you’ll reach the end of this game, but the point is to feel the journey itself.
