AKASE – “Under The Pressure” (The War On Drugs Cover) (Stereogum Premiere)
AKASE is Harry Agius (AKA bass music producer Midland) and Robbie Redway. The Leeds duo specializes in dark, atmospheric electronic pop tracks with a sharp bite, not unlike Depeche Mode or Thom Yorke’s solo work. Check out “Rust” or “Murmur” for an example of their original work. But today they’re applying that aesthetic to music by a very different kind of song, “Under The Pressure” by dreamy Philadelphia roots-rockers the War On Drugs. On SoundCloud, AKASE explained why they chose to tackle the Lost In The Dream opener:
This song really struck a chord with us when it was released last year — upon first listen it has a real classic rock feel to it but below the surface is a psychedelic introspective quality that permeates the whole album. The song has a feeling of relentless motion and is laden with intricate hooks and details, but when you dissect it it’s actually beautifully simple, which made adapting it a deeply rewarding process for us.
Listen below.