Lane 8’s “No Captain,” featuring Poliça

I’m going to spend tonight with a quick write-up on Lane 8, a.k.a. Daniel Goldstein. He’s a Denver-based electronic musician, originally from California, who specializes in melodic excursions of progressive house. He himself refers to it as “dreamy back rub house,” which I’m totally on board with. But it’s not the typical over-the-top electronica that often boasts the monikers of melodic and dreamy. Rather, it dives deeper beneath the blissful emotional tides, reaching for the melancholic and meditative. I’d almost say there’s a subtle sadness and yearning in the sound, too.

This all came about because I heard the soothing synth opus “No Captain” on my ride back from the airport this evening. I had a whirlwind 17 hour trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. So when I returned to Los Angeles, tired and wired, I had this Lane 8 collaboration with Minneapolis synth-pop act Poliça to welcome me home. It seemed fitting. Whenever I return from any kind of trip, I’m always at an emotional crossroads of relief and unease. Don’t know what it is. Just kinda happens.

So “No Captain” encapsulates that spiritual duality. Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s a break-up song, or some situation on the cusp of it. At the very least, it’s signifying change. Not that any of those specific things are occurring in my life … at the moment. But I do feel a cosmic shift occurring, even if I can’t put my finger on the specifics. And I know it’s impacting me in some shape or form. I guess that places this track close enough to home to call it meaningful.

Anyway, I digress … “No Captain” is a soft synth odyssey at a chilled 120 bpm’s. It’s the type of progressive house I could picture sneaking onto a Sasha & Digweed “Northern Exposure” mix, had it come out in the ’90s, rather than 2017. It’s also featured on Lane 8’s 2018 album “Little by Little,” where it sits comfortably among a number of other deeply cut gems of the genre. And it’s a vocal house number, but without the big room over-souled brashness. Poliça’s Channy Leaneagh keeps that tone reasonable, lending a laid-back sophistication, where the bliss stays surface level, while the emotional baggage rides the deeper undercurrents.

Polica. Photo by Jonathan Weiner; sourced from artist’s Facebook.

If you’re a fan of Lane 8, or you just like what you’ve heard so far, you might be interested to know he’s playing The Plaza at the L.A. Coliseum on June 29th. It’s part of his “This Never Happened” summer gathering, which is a special daytime performance that specifically urges you not to document the show with your phone cameras. Hence, the title. It’s also his only L.A. show for 2019, so it’s worth checking out.

On that note, I’m calling the night. And maybe even buying a ticket. I find Lane 8’s aural creations to be infinitely listenable, and repeatedly so, for all the reasons I’ve listed above. Hopefully, you like this one, and it leads to further discovery amongst his extensive catalogue of singles, mixes, and remixes. For starters, enjoy his calming collaboration with Poliça “No Captain.”

“No Captain” from the 2018 album “Little by Little.”

Lane 8:

Poliça: