Establishing the mood with immersive, arpeggiated synth keys and static detailing, Joyce Tratnyek opens her sophomore single, Listening Listening with the conceptual yet emotive lyrics, “You are the flickering radio signal, the last thread that ties me to Earth, I’m listening, I’m listening, I’m listening so hard that it hurts…”
Listening Listening expands with an ethereal and subversive dark pop frequency inspired by rising artist Joyce Tratnyek‘s battle with depression, and the “desolation and isolation that comes along with it”.
Lyrical highlights include the celestial, “The stars they seem so close now and in the distance, a candle burns…” and the existential “You are the flickering radio signal, the last thread that ties me to Earth…”
Joyce Tratnyek is an ambient indie rock musician originally from Portland, but currently based in NYC. Speaking on the release, Joyce says, “Listening Listening is my second single, which I wrote, engineered, produced, and designed the cover art and music video for myself. It’s only the second song I produced by myself, after years of convincing myself that music production and engineering was just for men, not women.”
We love her empowering vision for women in the arts. Joyce also confesses, “It is about desperation for human connection, and feeling loneliness on a cosmic scale. In essence, Listening Listening is a shout into the void, and the desperate hope for an answer, a feeling many people can deeply relate to.”
Joyce elaborates, “The song has a pretty yet gritty ambient alt-rock sound, with a mix of reverb-y and distorted guitars, creating a cathartic sonic landscape.”
We have added Listening Listening to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we also stream Joyce Tratnyek‘s debut single, Just Goodnight!