The keen reader will gladly remember Ashley Ray Simon from a feature we published earlier this year, celebrating ‘Terra Santa’ as “incredibly brooding and vibrant, a slice of vintage-coded grittiness and haunting lyricism”. We stand behind our words, and in fact, such a description well adapts to the project’s wider creative identity. The same is true also for ‘pagan roman daydream’, Simon’s latest offering. The context surrounding the release is rather unique, as it was previously published under Ashley’s previous moniker.
Despite being written and produced some time ago, ‘pagan roman daydream’ has not lost its edge, and in fact, it sounds contemporary and timely. Featuring collaboration with elite voices such as Clara Pople and Minna, the record develops on crepuscular alt-folk with an elegant orchestral side. The overall mood is evocative and poignant, yet it never descends into pure melancholy, instead threading the fine line between darkness and light.
Delving deeper into the nuanced lyrical ethos that propels the record, Simon explains: “It’s about that strange point where something hasn’t quite ended, but it’s already becoming something else. Everything feels heightened because you know it won’t stay that way forever.” We love the idea of rediscovering old releases; great music gets forgotten fast, and returning to ‘pagan roman daydream’ reminds us to slow down our hunger for new stuff, instead celebrating all the aural beauty we already have.
Recommended! Discover ‘pagan roman daydream’ now, and look out for new music from Ashley Ray Simon later this year: