Written by Louis Pelingen

For those who are not aware, before his Kailan cover was put out, Raccoon Eyed Ronan debuted on SoundCloud with ‘INSOMNIA’, a mostly decent R&B cut that was underpowered due to the rough production and mixing & mastering elements. However, after the Kailan cover did get a lot of buzz around the indie circles – which has led to Raccoon Eyed Ronan now working under Twin Plaza Recordings – he eventually touched up this song with Shuichi helping along. And surprise to nobody, it’s essentially an improved version thanks to the hypnotic production with all of its psychedelic atmosphere from the synths and horns paired with the impeccable mastering allowing the course grooves to swell and then explode wondrously at the end. And for a song that’s about holding on to a relationship and asking with genuine care if there is a possibility of fixing said relationship, both Raccoon Eyed Ronan and Shuichi delivered exponentially where Ronan’s somber yet heartfelt vocals contrast well with Shuichi’s desperate expressiveness that works with how the instrumentation spills forth after his verse.

There are a lot of welcome additions to this new version of ‘INSOMNIA’ that puts Raccoon Eyed Ronan as an artist to look forward to. Since now that he is under Twin Plaza Recordings, there is so much potential waiting to be seen here that it’s exciting to guess wherever he will go from here, especially with his brand of R&B that he can present with potent sincerity and layered melodic and production taste. For the time being, this track and the Kailan cover stand strong for what spark he’s yet to unleash, a spark that will keep us wide awake in the near future. 

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