Under the moniker Hazy Mountains, Julian Prott makes elegant use shoegaze, electronica, and guitar-pop. Prott describes his own sound very well: “It’s a mixture of electronic shoegaze music paired with dreamy synth-pop sounds in a downtempo wrapping that combines minimalistic beats, exploding guitars, and overall nebulous but melodic atmospheres.” The German-based artist just released his second album, Late Reflections, and it’s a stunner.
Standout track “Blush” develops from rainy-day pianos and a minimalist synth arpeggio to sonorous expansion, guided by mellow synth-bass, a chirpy synth lead, and gorgeous vocal sample interplay reminiscent of Avalanches’ classic track “Electricity“. Meanwhile, the cavernous synth pad and distant guitar twangs within the gorgeous “Neon Velvet” lead a twinkling meshing of soaring electronica and pop music, not unlike the work of Fennesz. Similarly to him, Prott is a gifted songwriter/producer with a knack for moving atmospheres; he flexes his muscles throughout Late Reflections, which you can stream in full below:
