As we maneuver our way through the strangest, and shall I say the most challenging summer of our lifetimes, Soundway Records has provided a timely and much-welcomed bright spot, with the exciting debut release from London producer Reuben Vaun Smith, titled Warm Nights.

This brilliant seven-track recording will mentally help take you on that tropical vacation you were hoping to experience this summer, with a nice blend of synth-based balearic grooves, mid-tempo lo-fi electronic beats, and sun-drenched sonic landscapes.

The story behind this recording is also what makes this debut so fascinating. Up until the age of 18, Smith focus was on playing soccer (aka European football), as he was a rising prodigy well on his way to playing professionally until life-changing knee injury unfortunately ended his career prematurely. Not long after, his grandfather bought him a MIDI keyboard – and despite never having had a music lesson or touched a keyboard in his life, Smith retreated to the shed at the end of his garden and started to teach himself music production. After being exposed regularly to the wide range of nightly music at his parents’ pub, including a regular event at local art studio in Leeds called The Midnight Club, he turned his full dedication and rigid discipline for playing soccer into an obsession to learn and play music.

Over the next year, Smith tirelessly worked on his craft, producing improvisational lo-fi recordings using an inexpensive keyboard and a downloaded computer program given to him on a memory stick by one of the punters in his dad’s pub. He hopes this approach is evident in the recording stating, “I hope people catch the rawness of these tracks as they are all 1-2 hour improvised jam sessions with myself. I could have gone back and tweaked things here and there but for this I preferred to leave them as they were in the moment.”

Out of this inspiring story of resilience, and turning a truly unfortunate situation into a fruitful opportunity has resulted in one of the best albums of the summer. As we continue to navigate our way through this challenging year, Reuben Vaun Smith’s incredible story and this incredible recording (which I have been listening to non-stop!), should all provide some encouraging inspiration to forge ahead and make the best out of each situation.

Reuben Vaun Smith — ‘Warm Nights’
(Soundway Records)

1. Under The Thunder
2. Photosynthesizer
3. Trip On New Shores
4. Sunshine Flute
5. The Tides Roll In
6. Open Chakras
7. Rising Sun

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