Pulling you into its expansive emptiness, ‘(sea)’ by Kai Moa feels like floating and sinking at the same time over and into deep blue oceans under a dark, grey sky.
The song is largely instrumental, and through this track we realise that is how certain songs ought to be. The significant instrumental sections give a footing to the song’s atmospheric and emotional quotient, allowing the listener to adapt their senses to the song’s world. Employing slow, drawn out synths and light, spaced out beats, the song evokes a certain feeling of loneliness and emptiness, one where you find you have no real control over what is happening to you. The haunting vocals that come in toward the latter part of the song, give words to that emptiness and further ground that consuming feeling. The reverb that is employed in the track really help in solidifying that sinking, empty feeling.
The sound of the song makes all the more sense once the lyrics come in. The song at its core is about the maze and chaos that online dating throws you in. There is no certainty in it, and you find yourself constantly being pushed around, and you are not seen unless a person chooses to pause for a bit to choose and talk to you. It is a song really relevant in today’s day and age, where most of us have tried our hand at online dating and most of us have been left feeling deeply empty.
Working through great restraint and an achingly beautiful arrangement of synths, this song might just help you feel seen in a system where you are barely seen.