‘Erased Dreams', the first full-length, low-tempo project from Helsinki based artist Yotto.Yotto feat. Sansa - Silhouette 3:33
Aptly regarded as a man of many sounds by Billboard, Yotto’s 'Erased Dreams’ also marks Reflections' debut LP release; an 8 track ambient journey, revealing a new side to one of Anjuna's most illustrious producers. Well-known for his thunderous DJ sets and deep, bass-heavy house productions, 'Erased Dreams’ may seem like a departure from Yotto’s usual style, but he’s always made music like this. With Reflections, he finally found a home for it.
Throughout his sparkling career, which includes a Billboard #1 LP and remixes of tracks by Joris Voorn, Gorillaz and Coldplay, Yotto has produced ambient music to help him look inward and re-charge his creative battery. But when COVID hit, his inner world took over. “At first, I was being really productive with club music. But then after a while I started making something completely opposite.” Yotto found himself exploring a different form of expression, with no plan other than to create. But when he put the tracks side-by-side in a playlist he recognised a synergy, and the outline of the project began to take shape. The result is more of a continuous soundscape than an album; an ethereal and dreamy experience designed to accompany the listener as they turn inward and drift away. If club music is a form of escape, then this is too – but instead of turning outward, we lose ourselves inward.
The first single is ‘Silhouette’. It’s a melancholy, atmospheric track with hints of ‘80s nostalgia and smooth as glass vocals from Sansa. The track conjures up images of vast and endless landscapes; the sense of space enhanced by sparse chord-changes and field recordings of heavy rain. ‘Silhouette' is so human it feels like an extension of an emotion, and Yotto says the idea came to him like a dream. A sound drifted towards him one day and he caught it by the tail and built on top of it until it became the entity he envisioned. 'It’s slow and steady and it grows. I think the beauty lies in the simplicity of it."
Club music will always be at the core of Yotto’s work, but his ambient catalogue will no longer sit in the shadows. Together, these parallel forms of expression don’t dilute Yotto’s artistry; they make it even stronger.
‘Silhouette’ is out now on Reflections.