PREMIERE | Deep Water, "Golden Soul"

Sunlight bathed the “Golden Soul” — Deep Water’s Dylan Connor; press photo courtesy of the artist.

The most meaningful and memorable pop tunes are made by providing a view and path to the most guarded and candid expressions and exhibitions from within our inner beings. These economically orchestrated vignettes function at the peak of their powers when all compositional components from melodies, harmonies, lyrics, arrangements and so forth work in concert to conjure up relatable experiences, striking chords of recognizable situations and other familiar narrative notions. The true test of a song stitched to resonate with their audiences is the conveyance of those elusive and jumbled things that dwell in both the conscious and unconscious respectively that affect the listener in moving ways that surpasses reductively simple and concise summaries.

A tunesmith that subscribes to these meticulous methods of sublime song constructions is New England artist Dylan Connor, aka Deep Water, who debuts the title track "Golden Soul" off the upcoming Relief Map Records solo EP of the same name. Known for their works via the moniker of Caténine, Connor marks his return back to Massachusetts from LA with a collection of catchy numbers that adhere to a sweet and heart sweeping sense of sincerity and an ephemeral veneer of vulnerability. The endearing and honest approach is reminiscent of the most overlooked bedroom pop of the oughts to the late 20th century charms brought to the world by boutique imprints and emotionally activated aesthetes. Connor takes the lingering sentiments crystalized by the ink from a stash of yellowing love letters that ponders pensively the feelings that forever haunt in the most peculiar of ways. These are the experiences and emotions shared with only those certain special somebodies whose incalculable influences alters the vantage point of our perspectives and personalities for always.

Deep Water’s “Golden Soul” is an ode to those important, kindred spirits that make the biggest differences in our lives. Dylan dives into the depths of memory, reconciling with the ghosts of those that have made indelible impressions upon our lives, reckoning with what still reminds from those profound impacts in absentia of their company. Old conversations are recollected, recalling that completed sense of contentment and purpose made manifest from the presence and graces of someone that reinforces your best self like the connective opposite and other of a neatly attuned and finely fitted puzzle connector piece. “Golden Soul” is a ballad dedicated to those mysterious bonds that make us feel whole, where the sum of all that we are is made into a super power of a kinship that is bigger than even the two involved spirits and bodies combined. Deep Water shines a sacred light on the meetings that matter, the people who change the course of our lives for the better and ignite the spark from within that lightens us up to shine brighter than ever before (and into the greater ever after).

Dylan Connor shared the following exclusive insights into the inspirations behind "Golden Soul":

When I’d written “Golden Soul” I was in the midst of a quite profound personal struggle, fighting to make sense of things that were beyond my comprehension. I found myself looking much deeper inward than I’d ever thought possible and it proved to be an immense source of catharsis for me. As time went on, it became an exercise in self-reflection and I challenged myself to be completely honest, even if it was painful or unpleasant. I’d scribble down these mini-revelations as they would come to me and once I had collected enough of them, it became clear that there was a bigger picture. I did my best to piece it together, and this song is what came of it.

In too deep with Deep Water; cover art courtesy of the artist.

The bones of “Golden Soul” came together over a few months in early 2015 — it’s the lone song recorded separately from the others on this EP. I recorded it shortly after moving into a house in the hills of Northeast Los Angeles — it had a walk-out basement that opened up to a beautiful yard and down there I set up a very basic studio rig and tracked it in an evening. It had been intended for an earlier project, but when my interest dwindled, it was relegated to the depths of my hard drive. I’d revisit it on occasion and remember how meaningful of a tune it was to me, but felt directionless as to where it was meant to go and it continued to lay dormant. It wasn’t until the last time I took it for a spin that it began to feel right, and I’d eventually end up building a collection of songs around it.

Deep Water’s debut Golden Soul EP will be available August 20 via Relief Map Records.