Rollercoasterwater, aka Chuckie Behring, is readying for the release of his self-titled LP this Fall, and Flavorwire has the pleasure of premiering its oneiric first single, “Well Aware.” The Animal Collective influenced L.A. musician took on the Rollercoasterwater title back in 2011, and has since explored the mysteries of consciousness through abstractly autobiographical soundscapes. In his “N64-wave and Slush-pop” stylings, he’s reached back to his childhood and harvested the familiar yet distant sounds of 90s video games and cartoon theme songs, creating a world of adult reflection on awareness and denial from the innocent bizarrerie of both his technologic and personal past.
“Sonically what I’m trying to explore is a sensation similar to what I experienced over my life through video games, which captured my imagination as a child and still do,” he says. “When I was born in ’94 everything was 16-bit, then it quickly advanced to 64-bit polygons forming in a simple way at first and then it advanced more ornate and high-poly emotions. Growing up at that time it felt like my consciousness was forming in a similar way to how technology was rapidly advancing. The album will explore similar themes, combining somewhat existentialist awareness with a pop sound exploring modern uncertainties.”
On “Well Aware,” Behring immerses the listener in thick psychedelia, as his voice echoes atop the cacophony of the tinny yet overdetermined sounds of 90s futurism — perhaps what you would have heard if Nintendo had released a game wherein Mario undergoes hypnosis.
Check out Rollercoasterwater’s past work, and stay tuned for his upcoming LP.