Yellow Hat

It's a bit strange that amazing tracks like "Yellow Hat" sometimes get featured a bit later on, but I'm really glad I'm able to cover it now, because it's been one of my favorite songs ever since it came out in 2019.

For this piece, the pioneers of the local Bulgarian alternative/neo-soul beat scene DAYO collaborate with Alexandr London - one of the most enigmatic and intriguing artists as of late. Alexandr's high-pitched vocal lines pierce like a warm torch through the icy instrumental. Wave after wave of Peyotoff's soulful guitar harmonies complement the atmosphere of the track. As dark as "Yellow Hat" is intended to sound, I always feel a sense of freedom - as though I were standing on the edge of a high cliff, where Trombobby's recognizable brass phrases and powerful trills flutter my hair like a strong breeze.

Though, as much as I love this track for what it is musically, it's actually the memories I associate with it that hold the strongest sentiment for me. I remember almost exactly a year ago when the DAYO boys performed this track live in Sofia's EXE club with SAÍGO joining them on vocals. It was the exact same day that the COVID-19 pandemic has officially been declared, so naturally, there was a lot of confusion, but no restrictions yet. We were quite literally just a handful of people gathered really late in the night in the enormous main room of EXE club, so the performance was super intimate and the whole vibe was unlike anything I've ever experienced before. It's crazy to look back and think about how much has changed ever since, so that freedom I used to feel with the track hits differently now. Albeit non-related, I guess Alexandr London's lyrics sum it up perfectly: "I wish it could've been simple"...

If you're digging "Yellow Hat", check out its music video to experience it once again, but on a whole different level, due to some top-notch production and visual storytelling: