Image credit: Jordan Munns
The wait is over! Acclaimed Australian electronic producer Golden Features makes his highly anticipated return with his rousing new single “Touch” featuring Rromarin.
Golden Features has turned out to be an apt name for the artist born Tom Stell, a nod to the gold mask he wears while performing. “Touch” marks the first taste of new music from Stell’s Golden Features, after a literal golden run since bursting onto the scene in 2014.
Since his 2018 debut album SECT and the launch of 2020’s collaborative project BRONSON (with ODESZA), Stell felt creatively spent and needed time to recoup. Instead of opting for the traditional R&R approach, Stell emersed himself deep into clubbing mecca of the world, Berlin. There, he lost himself in the city’s renowned techno bunkers and hedonistic clubs, dancing with strangers, stripped of phones and returning to the apartment in the early hours to hunt for the tracks he’d heard the night before. Four nights a week spent raving only came to an end when COVID closed the clubs down. But Stell returned to Australia revitalised and most importantly, inspired.
“Touch” encapsulates everything Stell took away from his invigorating stint in Berlin. A track that’s both moody and light, layered with pulsating rhythm, hypnotic beats and the duelling deep and wispy vocals of Rromarin.
“Touch was born from that synth riff. I fought it for so long, feeling it was too happy and upbeat. After giving it some space I reharmonized everything under the riff and it instantly made me feel something. Claire (Rromarin) had actually recorded these vocals for another song, but the lyrics just felt right for Touch” says Stell on the new single. “To me it encapsulates that feeling after the rave… At the kick-on laying with your head in somebody’s lap, smoking a cigarette while they play with your hair.”
Now with two platinum and six gold ARIA certifications for his tracks, 275+ million global streams, an acclaimed and beloved debut album in 2018’s SECT (#1 ARIA Dance Albums Chart, #1 iTunes, Triple J’s Feature Album), selling out two shows in 4 hours at the Sydney Opera House, headline slots at major festivals both at home and abroad as well as forming the BRONSON project and releasing their self-titled album with stadium-conquering US electronic duo ODESZA under his belt, Golden Features has cemented himself as Australian electronic music royalty, returning now as an artist at the top of their game.
ABOUT GOLDEN FEATURES
Stell’s music career began in 2014 with his self-titled debut EP featuring the massive “Tell Me” with Nicole Millar. Shortly followed by his 2015 EP XXIV, featuring guests in the form of American rapper K.Flay and Australian singer Thelma Plum, who appeared on the sultry “No One”. Always building on his prior successes, in 2016 Stell released his biggest tune to date, “Wolfie”, featuring Julia Stone and showcasing a poppier, brighter sound. Shortly after Australian dance music heavyweights The Presets came knocking to collaborate on the Raka EP.
Debut album SECT landed in 2018 to cement Stell’s status as a bona fide star, selling out shows across Australia, securing festival appearances everywhere from Coachella, Ultra to Falls Festival to Holy Ship!.
Two years later, locked down fans were treated to the sounds of their future rave dreams when Stell and ODESZA dropped BRONSON mid-pandemic. Their self-titled collab, borne out of a years-long friendship that started between Stell and ODESZA in Australia in 2014, is the best of both their worlds, infusing Odesza’s cinematic, expansive synth layers with Stell’s stormy, brooding low end. With over 2.5 billion streams across platforms, features from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (TEED) and lau.ra (on “Heart Attack”)) and support from world-leading music publications and DJs, BRONSON was one of the biggest electronic records of the year and further evidence of the breadth of Stell’s talents.
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