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Photo by Ian Anthony

Presley Regier isn’t just your average pop artist, he’s building one of the genre's most understated come-up stories. The producer who was raised in Thousand Oaks, and has been writing songs since 13 landed a support slot on Tate McRae’s Think Later tour, and has been sharpening a sound that splits the difference between glossy pop instinct and DIY intimacy. He’s back with “Shuteye," which might be his most atmospheric offering yet. 

This track was co-written alongside Luka Kloser, the in-demand hitmaker behind records for the likes of Ariana Grande, Addison Rae, and Conan Gray, “Shuteye” finds Regier folding his alt-pop foundation into something moodier and more analog leaning, pulling threads from the sounds of New Order and Depeche Mode to weave them into his very own, distinctly modern synth-pop lens. Regier works carefully to make this sound feel less like pastiche and more like a voice that’s confidently his own.

Lyricism on “Shuteye” sits in this comfortable, well-worn territory that analyzes the ache of wanting someone who isn’t fully there and the strange comfort of a dream you know isn’t real but wish it were anyway. Anyone who’s tried being single in New York knows this feeling all too well, have you ever gone out with some friends and thought someone was cute at a bar and wanted to talk to them but you don’t even know them? It’s kind of like that. 

“'Shuteye' is a song that compares that unrequited love with having a dream you wish were real,” Regier explains. “I made it with my executive co-producer in LA. When we made it we wanted to purposely not overthink it and keep it minimal so that it felt raw.”

Rawness pumps through this track like blood pumps through your body, it’s present throughout its entire construction. The hook, Regier notes, was never even re-recorded. “The hook you hear on the final version was never re-recorded because Luka and I wanted to preserve the magic from the very first take of the song.” It’s a small detail, but it tracks with an artist who’s always seemed more interested in feeling than polish, even as his production has gotten more assured. 

You can check out the most atmospheric offering from Presley Regier below: