‘Moments Of Joy’ marks a confident and warmly imaginative debut for SubDan (Dan Schock) on Remnants Music, distilling acid‑tinged breaks and downtempo instincts into a cohesive, resonant whole. Immediately evident is the album’s sense of balance: bright, kinetic rhythms coexist with patient, spacious atmospheres, and even the most energetic passages carry a reflective undercurrent. Don’t foolishly assume that SubDan is revisiting old‑skool influences. He’s blown new life into older concepts and has reshaped them into something current, personal, modern, and quietly expressive.
Across ‘Moments Of Joy’, Schock demonstrates a knack for contrast that gives the album its depth. The opener, Sunshine Grove, sets the tone with its buoyant acid lines riding atop a slow, grounding bass figure, a pairing that becomes a kind of signature throughout the release. Tracks like Feel It! and You show how effectively he uses restraint; both pieces build gradually, letting small details (vocal fragments, reverb tails, subtle rhythmic shifts) take on outsized emotional weight. Silence becomes an instrument during which reverb tails and other wickedly satisfying sound artifacts stand out, and the moments where everything drops away feel just as intentional as the peaks.
The album’s middle stretch leans into atmosphere without losing any momentum. Floating Thoughts offers a welcome breather, a slow, heartfelt drift that highlights SubDan’s melodic sensitivity, while Nightlights brings a darker, crunchier texture that still feels warmly nostalgic. By the time The Morning Song closes the record, the arc is complete: its sunrise‑like progression captures the album’s central theme: JOY. Not as a sudden burst of one-dimensional emotion, but as something that grows, layer by layer, until it fills the heart.
As a whole, Moments of Joy is a beautifully crafted release: one that radiates heart, intention, and a clear sense of artistic identity. It’s an EP that feels equally at home in a focused listening session or on a late‑night dance floor, thanks to SubDan’s instinct for pairing emotional warmth with rhythmic precision. His sound design is consistently thoughtful, with each texture placed deliberately, and his structures unfold with a patience that suggests deep confidence in his craft. Noteworthy is the emotional range that Schock achieves across just six tracks: from bright, kinetic uplift to introspective spaciousness, the record moves with a natural ebb and flow that you don’t come across every day.
Moments Of Joy was released 16 January, 2026 on Remnants Music
