44 Ardent - Hold On (Forever)
"Hold On" is the latest track from 44 Ardent, the musical alter-ego of Brisbane, Australia, electronic artist and ornithologist Callan "cln" Alexander. Introspective and moving pensively, "Hold On" navigates a slow, liquid haze. On track, sustained synth leads and the aqueous slow of blurry vocals meander a shadowy terrain; carefully treading across clattering garage beats and the incongruency of its electronic textures. Though subtle, 44 Ardent builds on a climactic construction, where its crescendos build into towering spires of synth and soaring sound. With regards to its lyricism, "Hold On" is decidedly subtle instead building on word association and metaphorical symbolism. Lamenting of the "cold iron" and "hot brand", the single's lyrics are allude to how people can be needlessly cruel to each other. Reflecting on the his need for expansive sound for those who grew up in the SoundCloud era, and speaking on the motifs explored in the song, 44 Ardent had this to say about the song and his broader creative horizons:
"I’ve always loved a big, emotional, wall-of-sound drop with lots of elements and complexity. Back then, people would literally scan the waveform and skip straight to the drop, so artists put a lot of energy into making that first moment hit hard. These days, it feels like hooks at the very start are more important, but for me, old habits die hard."
“'Hold On' is about how words can be painful. At the time I was thinking about how needlessly nasty humans can be to one another."
You can check out "Hold On" and previous singles including the glitchy, game-like house beats of "Wake Up" and the slow, hymnal crescendo of "Curtain Call" with its lo-fi mash of beats from his recent discography below:
"Curtain Call"
"Wake Up"
"Hold On"
