If you’re looking for a nostalgic 80s synth-heavy track with refreshing and airy vocals, 22 Oceans’ track “Drifting” is for you. It’s a beautiful song, masterfully turning an electronic pop song into a rather sad love song about a connection that is slowly drifting away.
22 Oceans began as a solo electronic music project by Mike Guy, a multi-talented musician who wanted to produce beats and use guest vocalists, but Carys & Keeley Hughes stayed, creating a serene synthpop electronic track with dreamy vocals.
The track is about looking back at a time in your life and realizing you’re much happier and better off currently. Lyrics such as, “I grew stronger, I grew brave” and “I’m here to stay” highlights the bittersweet realization that a once significant chapter in your life has now closed. The beginning line “Wish I could take back all those days” highlights how you feel realizing that this moment may have been better never happening, when the lyrics “I grew up you stayed the same, I moved on from playing games, knock me down I’m here to stay” in the chorus is taking a stand against bullying and not letting this person get to you anymore.
Beginning off with a melancholy tune accompanied with synths, the Hughes’ sisters glossy harmony comes in. The synths then take a back seat, to give the sister’s voices the spotlight: Velvety smooth vocals combined with a graceful piano.
The song then breaks into a heavenly instrumental, then making a heart-breaking yet wishful conclusion with the lyrics “Slowly drifting away” repeated in the background, quieter and quieter, seemingly drifting away from the listener.
Written by Melissa Cusano
