Nightriders “Paper Plane”

There’s no shortage of extremely loud club tracks to thrash your eardrums with, which is why Nightriders’ forthcoming track “Paper Plane” is such a treat. This cosmic, soul-inspired, deep disco tune clocks in at 112 bpm, and it’s just what the doctor ordered if you’re looking to check out of the world for seven minutes. The duo is set to drop their new EP on February 17, but they’re not resting on their laurels, as they’re already back in the studio writing new material. Enjoy this first play from their upcoming release, and be on the lookout for more feel-good tracks from this Boston group.

Were you impulsive on this track, or did you have a sketch in mind before you started?
Matt: Pure impulse. All of our music comes from somewhere unknown. Sometimes it ends up working; sometimes the ideas disappear to the depths of my hard drive.

Joe: For “Paper Plane,” the overall idea was simple. The vocal carries echoes of Pink Floyd’s “The Great Gig in the Sky”—but with a more easygoing and relaxed approach that suits the hypnotic and dreamy soulfulness of the track. Once that vibe was established, the rest followed suit, almost intuitively.

Describe the best setting/activity to hear this track.
M: Sunset, poolside, with friends and a cool beverage… and a spliff.

J: A late-night drive along the coast.

How do you measure the success of a track?
M: All I want from making music is to touch one person. If our music changes one person’s life for the better, then I’m happy.

J: How does one measure the success of creative expression? I think if the listener returns to the music to recapture a feeling that they enjoy, we’ve succeeded.

Choose one feeling that sums up this release, and describe it to us.
M: Bliss. “Paper Plane” is one of those songs you can completely lose yourself in. It has that spacey, soulful vibe that’s equally hypnotic, groovy and cathartic. It radiates. We wanted the new EP to be a more expansive, lush and dynamic statement that reflects our wide musical influences and roots—classic Chicago and Detroit house, mid-tempo ‘80s R&B, prog rock and contemporary tech house. It could work in a variety of settings, and people can enjoy it from beginning to end, like back in the day.

J: Hope. Whenever we start working on material for an EP or album, we always try to create a cohesive collection of songs with a similar theme. Our last EP, We Were All Alone, was a major departure from the four-on-the-floor, filtered disco tracks that we’d been hammering out over the years. Those songs were more about the isolation and loneliness some people feel in a relationship—they were emotional and reflective, but in a danceable context. If the last EP was the breakup, as it were, the songs on Until We Are Together are the hopeful rebound.

If this song were a color, what color would it be?
M: Cream.

J: It’s that color that covers everything around you during a golden sunset. Does Crayola have a color for that?

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