I know Valentin Hansen as a videographer and graphic artist who works with a bunch of my Berlin friends. Then he dropped a music project, slowly teasing out singles, each one better than the last.
But his most recent offering, "Lucifer," really made me snap my head up and pay attention. The self-taught producer and songwriter creates a somewhat understated, disjointed sound that is both gently poignant and authentically irreverent.
Thematically based on "the urgency of love that keeps a man alive in an uncertain world," Hansen employs a sparse, glitchy instrumental and a subtly pitched vocal to convey his vulnerably written message - how easy it is to fall in love, yet how momentary our feelings can be.
Mixing analogue elements with slightly overdone production tweaks, the track possesses a snappy, off-kilter beat which makes everything sound like a gasp for air midway through a bout of sobbing.
LUCIFER is about how different the feeling is to space and time when you love someone.
Hard to pin down a genre on this one (anti-pop/with some 2020 lofi-esque production/emo, voicenote, onetake music/downtempo trap?), but this creative soul has piqued my interest. Check out his video for previous single "Killing A Friend."