Like A Ghost

Bite the Boxer

Single Review

Let me paint you an image. Picture a crystal clear sea, white sand crawling up from its surface. Imagine the warmth of that sand as you make your way towards the still water. As you break the surface you embrace the warm chill of the liquid and watch as small ripples echo outwards, disturbing the silence of the water. Then, moment broken you plunge head first into the water and push out with broad strokes. This is the image that was crafted in my mind as I listened to this latest offering from Dorset songwriter and producer Matt Park aka Bite the Boxer.

‘Like A Ghost’ is a track that from its opening  moments envelops you in smooth synth work and dancing echoes. Continuing his winning formula from previous single ‘Forgotten’ and his debut EP from last year, ‘A Stream Becomes A River’ Matt combines these synth elements with a real Lo-fi sensibility. Each note is crafted to pull you into this fluid like sound that washes over you as you listen. Honestly through the headphones you are almost encapsulated in your own little bubble that seems to shimmer on its edges. The song picks you up gently and carries you through its peaks and troths with ease and then washes you upon the shore as the final notes fade out.

One element of Matt’s production that I really enjoy with each release is the way he uses echo and reverb to really blend the vocal sample into the music itself. Rather than have a vocal line that sits atop the musical composition, much like water colours, he allows the vocal to blend and bleed into the music around it. By doing this he doubles down on the fluid nature of the track and creates one of those purely seductive summer songs that are designed to get to kick back and relax. Hence the imagery that opened this review. You just can’t help but wish for a beach beneath you as you listen.

Overall, Matt aka Bite the Boxer has managed to maintain and even refine what drew me to his music and production in the first instance. From the hypnotic sway of his synths to the seamless shift in the musics feeling towards the final third this track is just once again evidence of his ever improving skill and sound moving forwards. I can only hope to hear more of the promised evolution to his sound and look forward to hearing where it will carry me off to next.

*You could be a part of his net project by following him on Twitch where he produces songs live during the week.

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