Electronic Artist of the Week, what does that even mean? Well its not quite as deep as the biggest question of all ‘why’?…but it is a deeper look into a particular artist who we’ve increasingly found creeping their way into our record collection. Typically such a producer will have had to wow us on 2-3 separate occasions for us to even consider the immortal words ‘Electronic Artist of the Week’. However like the Pointless Trophy, for winning the game show Pointless our much coveted award is perhaps not quite up there with the Grammys or an RA ‘Breaking Through’…but Pointless or not its our honest appreciation of someone who we believe is destined for greater things, and whose music we have been greatly appreciating. So like the latest HBO boxset we’re totally hooked, awaiting each new installment with eager anticipation…but like any great story there needs to be a compelling narrative, what is about Palms Trax that keeps us coming back?
Music like any form of artistic expression is a hugely saturated world of nearly’s but not quite. Like the Olympian that comes fourth, many artists will strive and graft only to be pipped at the finish line and their dreams dashed whilst someone else gets all the plaudits. So what is it that individuals like Palms Trax and other former ‘Electronic Artist’s of the Week’ (Midland, TEED, Disclosure, Dusky, Tourist, Daniel Avery to name a few) doing differently?
Although we have never met Jay Donaldson aka Palms Trax, we have met on a number of occasions all of the artists referenced above, and whilst not all will be to everyone’s personal taste, there is no denying their unified disposition of unrelenting dedication and passion. A desire that runs so deep that regardless of obstacles, disapointments and successes these are the sort of individuals who will be listening, buying, playing and writing music well beyond being eligible for a senior citizen bus pass. Its this unrelenting desire that turns fourth into third second and perhaps even first, why? Because those that come so close and quit are most likely not truly passionate about what it is they’re doing, as TRUE passion so completely dominates a person that even crushing disappointment can’t shake its vice like grip. And its this pervasive undercurrent that we detect in everything Palms Trax puts his hand to; whether it be answering interview questions, producing his radio show or writing music you get the feeling that music comes first and everything else is a bonus. For example he recently commented in an interview with RA that he’s stopped accepting remixes as he feels its artistically a compromise “Like, my name is on it, but it doesn’t feel like it’s necessarily within the reputation of what I do, and it doesn’t feel so honest.” And its this intense level of dedication, honesty and integrity that enables an artist, almost sub-consciously, to emerge from the pack with their own distinctive voice, without which they would run the risk of merging with their surroundings more readily than a teenage shopping spree at H&M.
This is not to say that everyone must be have their own distinct sound, as we know many make a good if not very comfortable living from such blending. However, these are not the individuals we’ll remember in retrospect, much like the 4th placed athlete… what was his name? Sounds harsh, but its a reality, not that writing music should be driven by a desire for legacy, but the point we’re trying to make is that TRUE passion WILL ensure an individual achieves greater things in their chosen discipline. Palms Trax appears to be on this path and barring an inexplicable drop in form the future is blazing with promise for this young producer.
Electronic Artist of the Week #25 – Palms Trax (Sampler)