It’s Always Been You by Estle

Above all else, our current stage of the digital revolution stands out for its incessant overstimulation, as evidenced by the bottomless well of short form sludge content we find on every social media app. Rather than passing this entire trend off as a harmful waste of time, It’s Always Been You by Estle searches for the most redeeming qualities of this undeniably addictive and popular form of consumption. Where other artists poke fun at overstimulation by exploring its extremes, Estle crafts a meaningful message to serve as a stable core before adding dopaminergic layers, leaning into the TikTok paradigm to comment on life, death, and rebirth in ways that appeal to a new generation. Delicate classical melodies provide a structure to a stereo field flush with organic sound effects, intense digital percussion, and miscellaneous field recordings, enhancing the beauty of these underlying tranquil themes while injecting them with an undeniable digital age flavor. If our overstimulation can create art like this, then maybe our internet habits aren’t all bad after all.