On December 6th, headnod. dropped his first EP, displace, to the world of electronic music. This EP is a seamless, hypnotic take on “the balance of frequency amplitude,” aligned with the project’s greater vision, and showcases the artist’s clear creative growth and developed sound design.
headnod. is the stage name of David Wells, a multifaceted producer, instrumentalist, and key member of the Six Star Records roster, based in Gainesville, FL. Shifting on undulating plates of low end bass, his dialed-in downtempo is mixed with live wire ripples and patterned breaks to create a signature style of trip hop, weaving through the neural network of listeners to induce the uplifting motion of his namesake.
2024 has seen the producer play shows in Charlotte, St. Petersburg, and Burlington, supporting acts like DRRTYWULVZ and Resonant Language, plus a performance at Sound Haven Music and Arts Festival. Earlier this year, he released an all-original ID mix, as well as two tracks on Six Star Records’ most recent compilation, Push & Pull, including one collaboration with ikuma.
The release of displace marks a significant shift from the piano-laden, lofi hip hop vibe of 2021’s debut album, Corduroy, without losing sight of the artist’s instrumental, jazz-influenced roots. This solid four-course meal is served up smooth and proper, proving the stylistic trajectory of an emerging artist who has found his voice and is clearly carving a distinct place for himself on the scene.
I’ve wrestled with releasing an official body of work since I started making music roughly eight years ago. Putting out anything with one’s name on it into the world is intimidating in any medium as there’s a lot of vulnerability that’s involved with self expression. The pursuit of perfection is fun because you can never get there, and embracing the journey of creation for the sake of itself has helped detangle my ability to feel comfortable putting my artwork into the world.-David Wells, AKA headnod.
What’s Inside
Opening with “invoke,” an oscillating resonance quickly develops a danceable underbelly of intricate break beats that bookend a crafted plunge into an echo chamber of vibratory minimalism.
“perplex” pops off with a similar energy. There is something both alien and futuristic at play, an experimental time warp tickled with biomechanical bleeps and burrs and a constant hum of activity that almost makes one lose sense of direction as the eyes close and the neck starts to waggle in sync with the beat.
With the third track, “exhale,” we’ve settled in for the ride. The beat hits the ears as natural as taking a breath and warm syncopation moves across a relaxed and prolonged teeter totter of comforting bass.
The closing track, “conjure,” launches off with a meditative reverberation, and as the beat takes form, building over the lush hum, we realize the eponymous “displacement” is not so much a physical or mental transport as a psychic state that puts one directly in tune with the rhythm of the music.
In Closing
While each track stands alone with its own force, this EP is best listened to front-to-back. Throughout these four tracks, the tempo shifts give off a sense of control gained and lost, a subdued tension and release that give the music a powerful hold over the imagination; even the track names seem to signify this path of fluctuation. And if you’ve seen headnod. perform this year, you already know that each of these tracks get the whole floor moving and shaking in unexpected ways.
With the drop of this EP, we hope 2025 will be rife with exciting announcements to come from this talented producer, so make sure to follow the links below to stay in the know with all things headnod.
Follow headnod.:
Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | SoundCloud
On December 6th, headnod. dropped his first EP, displace, to the world of electronic music. This EP is a seamless, hypnotic take on “the balance of frequency amplitude,” aligned with the project’s greater vision, and showcases the artist’s clear creative growth and developed sound design.
headnod. is the stage name of David Wells, a multifaceted producer, instrumentalist, and key member of the Six Star Records roster, based in Gainesville, FL. Shifting on undulating plates of low end bass, his dialed-in downtempo is mixed with live wire ripples and patterned breaks to create a signature style of trip hop, weaving through the neural network of listeners to induce the uplifting motion of his namesake.
2024 has seen the producer play shows in Charlotte, St. Petersburg, and Burlington, supporting acts like DRRTYWULVZ and Resonant Language, plus a performance at Sound Haven Music and Arts Festival. Earlier this year, he released an all-original ID mix, as well as two tracks on Six Star Records’ most recent compilation, Push & Pull, including one collaboration with ikuma.
The release of displace marks a significant shift from the piano-laden, lofi hip hop vibe of 2021’s debut album, Corduroy, without losing sight of the artist’s instrumental, jazz-influenced roots. This solid four-course meal is served up smooth and proper, proving the stylistic trajectory of an emerging artist who has found his voice and is clearly carving a distinct place for himself on the scene.
What’s Inside
Opening with “invoke,” an oscillating resonance quickly develops a danceable underbelly of intricate break beats that bookend a crafted plunge into an echo chamber of vibratory minimalism.
“perplex” pops off with a similar energy. There is something both alien and futuristic at play, an experimental time warp tickled with biomechanical bleeps and burrs and a constant hum of activity that almost makes one lose sense of direction as the eyes close and the neck starts to waggle in sync with the beat.
With the third track, “exhale,” we’ve settled in for the ride. The beat hits the ears as natural as taking a breath and warm syncopation moves across a relaxed and prolonged teeter totter of comforting bass.
The closing track, “conjure,” launches off with a meditative reverberation, and as the beat takes form, building over the lush hum, we realize the eponymous “displacement” is not so much a physical or mental transport as a psychic state that puts one directly in tune with the rhythm of the music.
In Closing
While each track stands alone with its own force, this EP is best listened to front-to-back. Throughout these four tracks, the tempo shifts give off a sense of control gained and lost, a subdued tension and release that give the music a powerful hold over the imagination; even the track names seem to signify this path of fluctuation. And if you’ve seen headnod. perform this year, you already know that each of these tracks get the whole floor moving and shaking in unexpected ways.
With the drop of this EP, we hope 2025 will be rife with exciting announcements to come from this talented producer, so make sure to follow the links below to stay in the know with all things headnod.
Follow headnod.:
Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | SoundCloud
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