We’ve been treated to another minimal turn of emotions by London-based musician Benjy Keating with his latest offering, “Water.” On March 29 the [Mixpak Records](https://soundcloud.com/mixpak) artist, who goes by the name Palmistry, released a simple but expressive single that previews what we can expect from his Afterlife album, due out in May.
The tone carries influences from pop-rap and tropical house, with distant flourishes that remind you of steel drums from an earlier time.
On “Water” we have what sounds like drowsy, autotune-textured vocals front and center, with layered elements in the background constantly reaching deep into memory.
It’s a number produced by SOPHIE, she, too, of the liquid realm — see, her subdued inner orchestra of a track [“Is It Cold In The Water?”](https://soundcloud.com/msmsmsm/is-it-cold-in-the-water)
Keating’s take on the fluid state is like waking up from a dream that co-mingles several different storylines from different eras of your past. But you’re here now. Those days are over. It’s bittersweet. You’re moving forward. And the residual feeling is one of warmth.
It’s possible Keating is remembering the success of one of his tracks that actually tackled that very subject, [“Memory Taffeta.”](https://soundcloud.com/mixpak/palmistry-memory-taffeta) Palmistry has been busy working with Yung Lean as well as hands-on with Vietnamese-Chinese artist Triad God. So he could’ve been replaying those experiences for himself, too, while coming up with the essence of “Water.”
The new album, Afterlife, created in turns in Athens and Brooklyn, will be the follow-up to his debut Pagan.
If his music sounds familiar, it’s likely because his song “Lifted” was turned into the Tory Lanez, Cashmere Cat and Major Lazer track “Miss You.”
Keating says “Water” considers the subject of disconnection. And we’ll be disconnected from the full picture of what’s on the album — the grainy black and white cover doesn’t give much away — until we hear a bit more.
