Jay Rodger, aka Fragics, captured our attention a few months back with his track “Airports” – a gorgeous hybrid of folk and electronica, reminiscent of Deathcab’s “Champagne Cups” set to soulful piano a la Jaymes Young.
On his latest offering “Won’t Let You,” he succeeds with his signature juxtaposition – emotive verses and vocals offset by pockets of synth and reverberating baselines. It has all the authenticity of a singer/songwriter ballad, with the energy of electronic music, like a feeling or memory we can’t quite put our fingers on, but that we want to revisit again and again.
As noted on his Facebook page, Fragics combines the acoustic and electronic sides of music that have been growing up side by side since he was 14, but never made it into bed with each other until now. This is very much the “example A” of the cliché: opposites attract, and the result is the perfect marriage of melodies. Having moved to the UK from South Africa at age 10, it seems like his life experiences helped mold his modus operandi, and heightened the acceptance/appreciation of, and perhaps preference for, creative experimentation.
He says, “I have been on a mission to create music that gives the same kind of solace that my favorite artists have given me ever since.” And he’s succeeded, because my solace on a day like today, is nothing short of snuggling up to "acoustic" and "electronic," and bearing witness to this cute couple's cross-genre cuddle sesh.
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