Brooklyn-based producer M. Vaughan has spent the better part of a decade crafting emotional electronic music.
His productions on labels like Freerange, Monologues, and his own Super Tuff merge warped synthesizers, simple melodies, and raw percussion into a fresh take on dance music, catching the attention of tastemakers like Laurent Garnier, Jimpster, and Axel Boman.
His debut album, True Life, which lands on Super Tuff on February 5th, explores every genre from ambient to house and breaks with impressive cohesion. Taking its name from a phrase Vaughan and his older brother coined in their grade school years, meaning “I swear,” True Life is a ten-track diary told through synthesizers, samples, and drum machines.
The album naturally separates itself into two parts—a warm, organic opening and a cold, electronic close. “Softly” perfectly encapsulates the coziness of the album’s first half. Composed of delicate piano, dusty drum breaks, and layers of live guitar, the tune builds from a simple beat into a triumphantly melancholic anthem, reminiscent of Amygdala-era DJ Koze.
On the opposite end, “Timshel” is the hard-nosed standout of the back half. Inspired by a night at Berlin’s Griessmühle, the track’s foundation rests on an electro drum pattern, providing a mechanical backdrop as a synth stab rises ominously into the foreground. With no 4/4 kick in sight, an overdriven breakbeat arrives two minutes in, launching the tune into the stratosphere leaving the listener in a dizzying headspin with an aftertaste similar to Shed or Photek.
His productions on labels like Freerange, Monologues, and his own Super Tuff merge warped synthesizers, simple melodies, and raw percussion into a fresh take on dance music, catching the attention of tastemakers like Laurent Garnier, Jimpster, and Axel Boman.
His debut album, True Life, which lands on Super Tuff on February 5th, explores every genre from ambient to house and breaks with impressive cohesion. Taking its name from a phrase Vaughan and his older brother coined in their grade school years, meaning “I swear,” True Life is a ten-track diary told through synthesizers, samples, and drum machines.
The album naturally separates itself into two parts—a warm, organic opening and a cold, electronic close. “Softly” perfectly encapsulates the coziness of the album’s first half. Composed of delicate piano, dusty drum breaks, and layers of live guitar, the tune builds from a simple beat into a triumphantly melancholic anthem, reminiscent of Amygdala-era DJ Koze.
On the opposite end, “Timshel” is the hard-nosed standout of the back half. Inspired by a night at Berlin’s Griessmühle, the track’s foundation rests on an electro drum pattern, providing a mechanical backdrop as a synth stab rises ominously into the foreground. With no 4/4 kick in sight, an overdriven breakbeat arrives two minutes in, launching the tune into the stratosphere leaving the listener in a dizzying headspin with an aftertaste similar to Shed or Photek.
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