Decisive Pink are Angel Deradoorian and Kate NV. Both sing, often bouncing verses off each other. Both play “a bunch of” modular synthesizers. ‘Haffmilch Holiday’, their debut single, is a gorgeous pop song built on a handful of delicious synth phrases and carried aloft by a seductive melody line.
Where are simple pleasures found? ‘Haffmilch Holiday’ was inspired by Kate and Angel’s time spent in Köln writing their album. Every morning they would walk to the local cafe to order a haffmilch cappuccino, back before oat milk was popular. This little ritual inspired the lyrics to the song. A simple yet satisfying experience, it “inspired the desire to to be free from the daily grind of societal pressures and to take in the little joys that all humans appreciate.”
The song is beautifully conceived, with the synth passages weaving seductively around each other. Certain phrases open like a decorated fan, whereas other sonic patterns squiggle and writhe around, adding a more enigmatic hinterland to the otherwise dreamy vista Decisive Pink sketch out for us. A nice detail which shows how the sounds we learn to love are often the result of chance. Apparently the Prophet overheated and couldn’t be re-tuned, hence the glorious key change near the end.
On the one hand ‘Haffmilch Holiday’ seems to be a straightforward plea for space, reflection and some positive energy. “I just want silence / I want to play / Dancing outside on the grass / My own holiday.” There is, however, another side of the looking glass, namely a parade of sampled voices, snatched conversations and cut up, indecipherable half-words that sound like someone put their hand on the running tape; all there to add to maybe tell another story. How do we communicate with one another in these times? Where to go, in our floating world?
