Ripsime – Paradise

On December 6th, the British-Armenian singer-songwriter Ripsime released her latest release that will unquestionably appeal to anyone looking for tastefully assembled and wisely composed music. “Paradise” is her first piece of work this year, a marvelous composition arriving right after “Capsule 1: Wicked & Wise,” an excellent extended play released in 2023 that you should also check out as soon as possible. This composition signifies a notable shift in her sound, incorporating fresh and unique ideas and innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing approaches. Soundwise, “Paradise” combines Ripsime’s singer-songwriter approach with some of the finest properties borrowed from many different but complementary music genres. Perhaps synth pop comes to mind first, but you’ll notice how some of the finest properties borrowed from synthwave, bedroom pop, indie pop, alternative pop, and post-punk found their way into this sonic equation. Ripsime uses all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate her latest song to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. These experimentations with many different but complementary styles resulted in a catchy, memorable, engaging composition that marries nostalgia with modern sound, so it’s one of those fine pieces of sonic artistry that will appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts. 

As soon as you press play, you’ll immediately notice how the calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal ambiance wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the song ends. Ripsime thoroughly planned everything, so you’ll also hear how “Paradise” arrives with a perfect structure, adorned with many intricate segments, brilliant ideas, and superb orchestrations. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose here, making “Paradise” such an ear-appealing track worth repeating over and over again. Ripsime’s passionate, sincere, confident, emotive, powerful, exceptional vocal performance steals the show here, as she commands attention and guides the listening apparatus through an expansive sonic universe with her voice. These vocal harmonies continuously float above the mesmerizing ambiance, decorating everything she intended to achieve with this song. The impressive vocal range seamlessly balances between low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing all the segments and instrumentations. It’s also worth mentioning that these vocal harmonies contribute to the emotional depth and complexity of an already intricate structure. In the meantime, synth plays a significant role in constructing a lush ambiance and shaping a perfect backbone for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll stumble upon the comprehensive collection of ambiances, sequences, harmonies, melodies, themes, leads, and other sonic delicacies along the way, but don’t be surprised if you discover even more with each new listen. Ripsime fully stacked this composition with so many synth layers, so “Paradise” might be one of those calm, soothing, ethereal synth-pop songs, but there’s a complex undercurrent tickling all the senses. Of course, there are also some guitar works along the way, spicing things up through arpeggiated and regular chord progressions. These guitar works are subtle compared to synth layers, but they’re vividly hearable in the mix. Also, it’s nearly mindblowing how all these synth and guitar works match vocals harmoniously, making “Paradise” one of the finest synth-pop numbers you’ll hear this year.

The impressive basslines provided by Ripsime’s bandmate Luke elevate this song to an entirely new level. They are equally intricate and vividly hearable, providing more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while binding all those synth and guitar works with rhythmic patterns. These basslines are rich, dense, warm, and heavy enough to blend with the guitars, making them more powerful seamlessly. Ripsime builds the atmosphere by gradually introducing expertly programmed, well-accentuated, moderate electronic beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. These rhythmic structures keep the remainder of the orchestrations in line while dictating groove and pace without spoiling the calmness of the song. Ripsime cleverly arranged each beat so it could flawlessly pair with synths, guitars, and bass, making “Paradise” such a tastefully written and composed number worth repeating over again. As you can hear and see, Ripsime thought about everything while writing, composing, recording, arranging, and producing her latest composition, so if the synths and guitars act as a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon, then the basslines and beats serve as an adequate backbone, holding everything together. With “Paradise,” Ripsime showcases all her experience, knowledge, creativity, and talent, proving that she’s one of the finest singer-songwriters in contemporary synth-pop and indie scenes. Her marvelous vocal harmonies, lush synths, catchy chord progressions, intricate basslines, and heavy beats collide harmoniously from scratch to finish, constructing one of the best synth-pop songs you’ll hear this year. It’s a masterpiece that will instantly become your go-to track whenever you crave some cleverly constructed and flawlessly performed synth-pop music. You should place Ripsime and her latest single on your music radar as soon as possible. Don’t miss it!