“Following the Sun” by Super-Hi and Neeka

Although there’s a lot to take in with the new video for “Following the Sun,” it’s perhaps the playful beat that Super-Hi and Neeka are dishing out here that deserves the majority of our attention. Where a lot of their peers would have been more conservative with the grooves in this track, these are two acts that don’t mind flirting with the indulgent side of the pop model, especially when it results in something as inviting as “Following the Sun” is. For summer jams, this is definitely one of the more intriguing I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with lately.

There’s a rather forced feel to the vocal in a few spots here, but I think this was important for facilitating the most tension on the other side of the bassline. Instead of putting all the pressure on the percussion, this is a rhythm defined as much by the verses as it is the pushiness of the bass, tethering its aesthetical influences to that of a club song more than a standard pop single. The versatility for a remix is present, but “Following the Sun” nonetheless works as a sporty, radio-ready track as well.

The artificiality within the mix perhaps emphasizes the colorful nature of the harmonies in this song more than anything else could have, and those who would argue against the plasticity of the track really can’t appreciate the depth of the concept Super-Hi and Neeka are trying to cultivate here. It would have been a little on the nose to employ an organic approach to the vocal element in the song exclusively, and using this streamlined sound puts an exclamation point on the groove that would not have been possible in a more natural setting. Fortune favors the bold, and these are players who are experimenting with everything on the table in this release.

In the music video for “Following the Sun,” surrealism is a factor in our interpretation of the narrative, but it doesn’t allow for a devolution into complete visual discordance halfway through the song. The imagery doesn’t extend itself beyond the lyrical themes, which helps with cohesiveness more than it hurts the accessibility of the video as a whole, and though there isn’t an animated frame to be seen, there’s a vitality to the shots in this piece that strikes me as being quite unique every time I watch it.

“Following the Sun” is quite the focused collaboration in a sea of marginalized melodies and predictable content out of the underground in the past couple of years, and I recommend taking a peek at it if you haven’t already had the chance. Super-Hi and Neeka present us with a lot of potent components in this release, but they’re not overly ambitious with what they’re setting forth; as far as I can tell, this could be the start of a beautiful, long-term project between the two parties, and perhaps what we’re hearing in “Following the Sun” is just a taste of what’s still possible in their studio experimentation.

Mindy McCall