Faex Optim is back with the full-length album Solar Drift, releasing on the Welsh label Touched Music, and it finds the Edinburgh-based producer deepening the stylistic shift first signaled on Crystal Pleasures. Where his earlier work leaned heavily into woozy, detuned synths and dust-flecked nostalgia of analog memories often compared to the gauzy atmospherics of educational reels and retro soundtracks, this newest material points skyward. The new album is brighter, more energetic, often summery and always forward-moving. The album’s first six original tracks are followed by four remixes by guests.
The opener Beerdrunk Souls sets the tone immediately with airy arpeggios, crisp percussion, and layered synths, building into something propulsive yet introspective. Lucky Charm introduces grumbling basslines and echoing fragments of female vocals, punctuated by twinkling piano and breakbeats that drive the track toward a satisfying fadeout. Numberblocks takes a more spacious, melodic route, evoking the warmth of a carefree afternoon, while Monomial builds steadily into a soaring, emotive piece punctuated again by vocal snippets. Magic and Realism provides the greatest contrast, beginning in mournful tones before plunging into bass stabs and infectious drums, hinting at danger beneath all the airy lightness. Dancer’s Lament closes the sequence of originals with piano-led wistfulness that blossoms into a summery, progressive rhythm.
The remix set continues this trajectory: Seven Deaths’ take on Beerdrunk Souls transforms it into a layered, chaotically-arpeggiated piece with airy vocal fragments that dance around the core melody. Concretism’s version of Magic and Realism drifts into a woozy, upbeat terrain, balancing lightness with subtle hints of tension. Heogen reshapes Lucky Charm into a slowly unfolding, dreamy groove aided by an infectious percussive rhythm that gets under your skin. Finally, Yunx reimagines Monomial as an ambient, downtempo journey, emphasizing spacious textures and meticulous sound design.
Solar Drift ultimately succeeds in pushing Faex Optim further from his nostalgic origins without losing sight of them entirely. The emotional core remains intact, but the production is cleaner, the rhythms more danceable, the moods more kinetic. It feels like a natural evolution rather than a break, positioning him comfortably within Touched Music’s diverse catalogue of forward-thinking experimental electronic music. The result is an album that balances airiness with depth, uplift with introspection. It’s a radiant, assured step forward for an artist who continues to refine his voice.
Solar Drift by Faex Optim releases 21 November, 2025 on Touched Music