Establishing the mood with a super dimensional, glistening synthscape, DJ Momotaro opens Neon Heat with a captivating vocal performance from Vessa as she sings, “I saw you dancing by the pool last night, leather jacket in the neon light, you looked at me like I already knew…”
The opus expands with an EDM-pop vocal performance and a cinematic brand of songwriting that brings to life a timeless feeling, but zones back to the glamour and vibes of 1983! We love the throwback energy with an incredibly contemporary mix. The production is sublime! Vessa’s vocal range is out of this world and DJ Momotaro production skillset is beyond magnificent.
There is a high emotional quotient to the song, and this is further amplified by the chord changes for the middle eight. We feel like we are in LA, living in the most incredible moment of the 80s but with a futuristic edge.
Adding to its mystique, we actually learn that the core motif was “first sketched in 1989”, so it has this authentic late-80s DNA, and was refined for today – hence the outstanding production! Fans of Ryan Paris, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, PWL/SAW, Kavinsky, The Weeknd will be able to connect with the track, but as for its sound design, Neon Heat is in a league of its own – the brightness, the punch, the depth – unparalleled!
The visionary DJ Momotaro confesses, “I sketched the heart of Neon Heat as a teenager in 1989. Back then it was just a fragment – a bassline, a feeling – but it stuck with me for decades. Releasing it on my birthday now feels like time folding in on itself, like the late ’80s finally arriving in 2025. It’s not just nostalgia; it’s that same teenage pulse dressed in a new skin, engineered with everything I’ve learned since. In a deeper sense, this song is an original of the late 1980s that took 36 years to surface – same DNA, but sharper teeth.”
On a more philosophical level, he shares the tale, “I was coming off a stretch of screen-heavy, head-noise days and wanted a track that pulls you out of your head and back into your body – optimistic melancholy you can dance to. Globally, we’ve been living in a hyper-digital, always-on mood. Neon Heat is my antidote: analog warmth in a neon world. It’s about that split-second electricity when the night, the lights, and a melody all click at once. If the song makes you want to move and remember something you can’t quite name, it’s doing its job.”
We love what DJ Momotaro is creating, and have added Neon Heat to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we anticipate future releases from the artist!