- Words Notion Staff
- Photography Matsu
Ukiyo drops the glistening electronic tune "Make It Better" with Bajillionaire and Brewer; a taste of his eponymous forthcoming debut album.
Australian electronic producer Ukiyo (real name Tim Arnott) has dropped the soft yet uplifiting new single “Make It Better” featuring Bajillionaire and Brewer.
Drawing comparisons to Porter Robinson and early MGMT, “Make It Better” is the latest taste to be shared from Ukiyo’s upcoming self-titled debut record, due for release on 13th November.
Floating amongst the song’s sparkling synths and euphoric melody are moving lyrics, encased in ethereal, sparse vocals from Bajillionaire and Brewer.
Speaking on the inspiration behind the track, Ukiyo says, “This song is all about personal struggles, so it means completely different things to Bajillionaire, Brewer and myself who wrote it. For me, this song is about anxiety, which is something that I’ve always struggled with but only really started taking seriously very recently. You’ll hear a lot of references to that in the lyrics as well as the production, which was originally called “Don’t Forget to Breathe” in its demo form. I wanted to turn my feelings of anxiety into something beautiful, with the building, whirling synths in the verses representing how I feel in the moment and the chorus recreating the feeling of getting through it. I recently started taking medication to help with the anxiety and I’ve found myself blasting this song in the car ever since, it feels good to finally have a lot more days feeling like the chorus section”.
With 30 million streams across his music and a long list of accolades, including playlist additions from Pharrell Williams and Martin Garrix and a number of high-profile brand syncs, it’s no wonder the anticipation for Ukiyo’s album is high.
A true celebration of the Australian music scene, Ukiyo has tapped up some of Oz’s biggest and best for his debut record, securing features from the likes of Panama, Maribelle, Janeva, Sammi Constantine and more.
“I’ve always been completely in love with the Australian music scene, so I knew that in my unique position as a producer I wanted to showcase some of the incredible upcoming Australian artists when it came around to creating my album”, Ukiyo says. “Everything from production, to features, mixing, mastering, artwork is all 100% Australian. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out and I hope I can finally take people on the cloud-filled journey I’ve always wanted to through this music”.