2019 was a busy year for 22 year-old Gold Coast artist Erin Foster, known as Karamilk, filled with festivals and recording new music. She returns with her new single, "Swimming Pool", a welcomed uplifting gesture of hope that is "like hoping to hold hands on a first date."
Featuring Sydney's Sam Parker, "Swimming Pool" is an uplifting pop tune that builds throughout, blossoming into a dance-floor-worthy package with atmospheric undertones throughout. Karamilk's unique voice stands prominently at the front, taking turns to contrast brilliantly with Sam Parker's mellow tones. The result marks an effective first foray into the often difficult to navigate waters of an well-balanced duet.
Atmospheric synths provide a delicate opening with a simple drum beat lifting the mood, providing an expectation of a juicy dance track and sure enough, there it is! The bass kicks in and you're in dance territory. The vocals are sparse but that is the beauty of the song - everything in moderation, nothing overpowering and the anticipation is well rewarded.
Whilst the song sounds accomplished and well polished, it has taken a long time for Erin to be comfortable with it.
"To be honest, this is a tortured track. I've had a love/hate relationship with this song for years. I originally built a demo called "Close Enough" back in 2015 and struggled through more than five different versions with various different producers. Recently the track was picked up by a major label and I found myself back in the studio in Brisbane recording yet another version. I came away realising that I was not being true to myself or true to my sounds. Against the advice of so called industry experts, I re-wrote the entire track in a single session at home. A change of key. New instrumentation. A new title. 100% my production and musicianship."
It's hard to believe that Karamilk has been releasing music for less than a year and it seems that there is plenty more to follow this year, with another single and an EP to follow.
Our rating: 8.8/10
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