Settle in for an exciting, unpredictable electronic soundscape, ‘Holding a Gun’ from Richard Green.

The London-based Italian musician/guitarist/composer has been experimenting with combining typical elements of classical music, retro, synth pop with more modern sounds. Suffice to say, this is pretty on-the-edge, experimental stuff.

The track’s cover art, a smokey depiction of bullets zooming past each other, is a smart reference to the track’s core message. About bias and misinterpretation. It’s about how people are so quick to jump to judgment and violent accusations in the face of any simple information that doesn’t align with their values. The word ‘triggered’ comes to mind to describe just how quickly simple interactions and conflicts of opinion escalate into full-on wars of words and much worse, actions.

Listening to this feels like the soundtrack to a 16-bit spy thriller video game. We open into intriguing, retro-powered synth-pop tones, subtle layers of sound can be felt building in the background. We drop into a groovy, albeit slightly unsettling, rhythm, the piano tones varying wildly but staying close to the core upbeat tempo.

Halfway in, the track strips down to a playful interplay between melodies; it’s almost like witnessing melodies in conversation! We dive back into the hypnotic, provocative rhythm; close listening will reward you with the subtlest of new sounds and textures introduced.

What standsout here is the level of production and sound quality. Simply excellent. Despite being a experiemental piece, every element feels at home in the precisely balanced track. This will sound just as good on your headphones as it would on a club sound system.

Richard Green delivers a daring fusion of sounds that invites relfection, imagination and movement.

Stream ‘Richard Green – Holding a Gun’ on Spotify here: