Soft Concrete from Playground Rewind by Marimbits

The initial glass chords of this track, "Soft Concrete," seem to hold the memory of sunlight, a fragile moment quickly underscored by a muscular LinnDrum pulse. It maps the subtle erosion of familiar public spaces, much like chalk drawings washing away on an old playground slab. Skye’s marimba work shifts from bright clarity to a deliberate detuning through the rondo’s cycles, which isn't just structure but a quiet conversation about decay. The VHS-wilted sax fragment, manipulated by Lennox through the VCR rig, adds a layer of adult melancholy to the arrangement.

The track’s narrative isn't told with words but through the way sounds wear down; the 'chalk-rain field recording' in the bridge, for instance, pushes this subtext forward. That subtle flutter, a hallmark of producer Isla Rojas’s commitment to full takes over clean quantization, becomes a character in itself, growing more pronounced with each reprise, reflecting how memories can fray. The sub-bar chimes, crafted from discarded playground equipment, provide an unconventional bass, grounding the piece with a gentle thrum. Noah’s live tape splicing, an element of their performance, is felt directly in the fractured feel of the outro, as the crowd ambience fades, leaving a poignant silence. This piece reveals its true weight with repeated listens, hinting at a deeper conversation about what we lose to progress, a quiet ache that sets it apart.

We're Marimbits. We take old marimbas and rusty VCRs, then make wobbly tunes that hit like your favorite childhood home video on loop.