Establishing the mood with textured marching drums and glistening arpeggios, Sharpshooter Soundworks opens Marching Orders with intricacy and an intentionally onomatopoeic energy. We immediately connect with the hypnotic motifs and the cinematic aura that manifests.
There is no doubt that Marching Orders would be perfect as the score of a film like the Oscar-winning, One Battle After Another. Fans of Ratatat would also be able to connect with what Sharpshooter Soundworks has created. We appreciate the drum riffs and cosmic ebbs and flows of the track before a cerebral synth performance mid-way through the composition.
This moment is trippy and almost psychedelic in nature, the main body of the piece re-engages us with melodic alterations before a serene yet microtonal finale. Speaking on the intention and inception of the release, Sharpshooter Soundworks confesses, “Marching Orders is really all about finding yourself on a journey and all of the unexpected roads life can take you to.”
The rising artist, also known as Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist Andrew Shabazz adds, “The idea came to me in a pretty funny way, I just thought, hey, I want to make a beat with snare rolls that sounds like a marching song and it all just started coming together from there.”
Andrew cites the sonic influence of Tame Impala, Mac Demarco and MGMT, which we can absolutely feel come to life on Marching Orders, although there is no doubt that Sharpshooter Soundworks is creating a universe unto his own design.
We also learn that Marching Orders serves as one of Sharpshooter Soundworks‘ most personal and accomplished compositions. For some context, Andrew writes, composes and produces every element of his music from his home studio using a laptop and FL Studio. With over a decade of experience across multiple genres, his hands-on and experimental approach has helped shape his distinctive sound. Rather than pursuing live performance, Sharpshooter Soundworks’ focuses on creating music for other artists and media placement.
Needless to say, we are in awe, and have added Marching Orders to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TRIPPY playlist, whilst we continue to stream Sharpshooter Soundworks‘ wider discography, including Lovemaking, and Somber.