“In Your Heart, Greenish Glow”

An underground artist worth knowing from Detroit? Said to no one’s surprise. But, seriously.

The above image comes from the cover of Soft Touch’s latest album, Ectoplasm. I came across this synth-pop ingénu by chance on Bandcamp and was immediately pulled in.

Moody and atmospheric, songs range from down-tempo lullabies, haunted, dancey pop ballads to instrumental interludes and ambient dream pools. Unique and fresh supersedes cold, but a hazy, dark, forward-driven distort over top pulls the tracks together.

Move over Misfits because there’s a new “Halloween” in town. With autumn swiftly approaching, the as such-titled single is assured to be your new fall bop. Gripping, but comfortably soothing, I could not get it out of my head after a few listens.

The hissing, Soft Moon-esque “PERSON ONLINE” is a must. “Knew” and “Hope” are also excellent— brooding, but bright. Though, honestly the whole album is a gem and is enjoyable start to finish.

Along that line, what struck me when I backtracked was that I couldn’t find a bad song. Soft Touch has two previous albums. More recently the 2017 release, Exercise in Futility, and prior to that there was the debut Maybe Something, Maybe Nothing in 2016. They started off strong out the gate and have remained consistent throughout.

There are certainly repeat-tracks, but these are full album listens. Subtle to bold changes in style between songs keeps things lively. While instrumental numbers float and nest around hits. Some of the latter feel almost like their own few-minute-worlds. Somehow, not only do they tie seamlessly together, but almost seem to weave the emotive, soft backbone of the whole.

A passion project, Soft Touch doesn’t currently have any socials, but I will certainly be keeping an eye out to see what they produce in the future.

For fans of acts like: John Maus, Lust For Youth, Forever Grey, Ortrotasce, M!RM, Veil of Light, Vogue.Noir, Hørd, European Ghost, & Пожар.

Who is Soft Touch?

Soft Touch is my music project. My name’s Julian Karaszkiewicz, and I’ve put out 3 albums under the moniker beginning in 2016. I’m 26 and live in Metro Detroit. I’ve been in and out of school and in and out of jobs since then too. I don’t do music full-time or anything. I grew up in a city named Livonia and now live in Westland after moving back from Portland, Oregon, where I lived for about a year and a half. I’ve lived in the same 5 x 5-mile radius for most of my life, though I enjoy new places. It’s kind of an unremarkable suburb honestly, which is why I default to saying “[Metro] Detroit” when asked.

I didn’t research the “band” name very well when initially picking it. I just liked the name and it felt right. This is evident as there are about a baker’s dozen other Soft Touches out there, but somehow I didn’t notice or care enough at the time and it hasn’t been a big deal. Plus it’s always been a relatively personal project so I never thought it would matter much. Respect to the other Soft Touches of the world.

You have an enigmatic internet presence. Would you humor us with your astrological sign?

It’s mostly by accident. I’m just a relatively private person. I like to leave the project on its own island so to speak, to let it stand on its own terms. But I understand the curiosity of context. I tend to think flooding social media with Soft Touch would be unnecessary, and I’ve always had a distaste for advertising, so I try to be simple with it… I’m a Capricorn, which is fine enough. I’ve always thought the goat/mermaid symbol was cool. This is where all the astrologists go “Ahhh, that makes sense”.

So, your latest release, Ectoplasm, just came out recently. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole album, but PERSON ONLINE was the first track I heard from you. And, can I just say- Wow, chef’s kiss. I love how effortlessly you go from atmospheric dark pop to grabbing industrial-fueled synth and back again. Is this sound something you plan to continue in future work? Any particular industrial or harder projects you’re into?

Thanks, I appreciate that, I’m glad you enjoy it. I’ve always had an affinity for hard-hitting music, but stuff I make usually gets kneaded and softened out through the production process. I think over repeated listening I end up mixing down the harder elements as it can be grating to the ears…

I’ll probably try and make more “harder” stuff again in the future though. “Person Online” was kind of a fun experiment with screamy vocals, but I question my ability to double down in that realm. It’s not really in my regular toolkit so to speak. I didn’t know how it would be received, but it’s amusing to me that it ended up being one of the more popular tracks. It’s funny how that works.

As far as harder music projects I’m into, I don’t listen to many these days, but I’ve always been moved by live shows in that realm. Rhythmic, industrial noise, blown-out type vibes. Even gabber/hardstyle type beats, Aphex Twin style. Also Bad Brains-esque hardcore shows I’ve always enjoyed. 80’s punk or whatever. Music where it feels like it’s bursting at the seams, almost ripping apart. Not exactly my personal style but, I’ve always admired and been inspired by it.

We next delve into the boppy, but subtly haunting Hope. Which carries us to Halloween. Absolute banger. I can feel the autumn air on edge, but it’s just so much fun. That track perfectly captured the essence of its namesake. Other than the obvious, was there anything that spurred the inspiration or mood behind it?

Thanks, yeah, Halloween was definitely made with the holiday and feeling in mind. Kind of a nod to the goths as well. I made it on the 4th of July though, last year, which is like an inside joke with myself, making a holiday song on a different holiday…

You definitely have a cultivated sound that’s your own. But there’s a lot of variation between tracks, whether subtle or overt. When you’re writing music do you feel like you’re working on tracks of different styles and enjoy playing around with that, or from your perspective does it feel more like exploring different aspects of yourself?

I’d say yes. I don’t go out of my way to try out radically different genres often or anything. I just go with what feels right in the moment, more or less. I tend to gravitate towards what sounds good to me in that moment, and hone in on it and try and complete a song with it. I do try to mix things up as I make new songs though. In moments where things flow most smoothly, it can feel like I’m trying to build a song that’s already there, and I just try my best to get to it!

There is a curated uniformity in your sound. All the tracks, regardless of changes in style, fit together tonally. But there’s a lot of nuance and variety. This struck me as perhaps coming from someone from a wide background in taste, despite having developed a niche sound of their own. Would you agree, or are you a bit more honed in?

Thanks! I’m definitely a music hound and have spent the bulk of my teenage years scrounging the internet for sounds I hadn’t heard before. My intake has really slowed, and I tend to listen to my favorites these days, but I love many types of music, yeah. I’m glad the music seems informed in that way! But I’m still just stumbling along. Feeling around for things that sound right and trying my hand at it.

When I first heard your work, one of my first thoughts was that I could see people of a relatively wide subgenre pool being into your music. Hypothesis confirmed when I saw all the Spotify lists you’re featured on. I don’t know if you’ve noticed? But you’re on a good number of Best of//Essential: Sad Post-Punk, Darkwave, Coldwave, Goth, Synth, and funnily enough, a few Doomer and Slav mixes. I didn’t look through all of them, but “Vast” (from Maybe Something, Maybe Nothing) is popular and “Halloween” is on quite a few. How does it feel to be a rising, stealth cult favorite and anything you’d like to say to your fans?

Haha, yeah I’ve noticed a little bit of that. Sometimes I worry if my darker music is encouraging “doomerism”, which is why I made “Better Now” as a token of optimism in response to the fatalism of “Vast”. I try to keep a healthy balance, just like in real life. But I get it, I use music to wallow and externalize those difficult feelings too, to feel less alone and work through them, etc. The internet can be interesting in how music goes around. But I’m glad people enjoy it.

There’s an enthusiasm in your music like you’re thoroughly into what you’re doing and we get to be privy to it. What’s your favorite aspect of either creating or performing music?

Everyone needs an outlet, right? Sometimes I try to channel that frenetic energy that I can’t seem to place anywhere else. Creating and performing can do it, for sure. It’s a way to express yourself and have fun. As well as to provide some satisfaction from setting a goal and completing it.

I appreciate you including your lyrics on Bandcamp. The songs are atmospheric and emotive already, but with the often slightly distorted vocals, getting to see the lyrics adds another dimension. Your lyrics are oft simple but poetic. Undemanding, yet transporting. Is writing a facet you especially enjoy or something you do outside of music?

I don’t do it much outside of music, no, and honestly, it can be really difficult! I try to write around a concept with lyrics, or sometimes it’s more direct. I enjoy that communication of an idea can be abstracted with lyrics more than direct conversational writing.

I know some people who end up with beautiful lyrics, but it’s a tortured process. Yours come off as either dreamy and imaginative or at times like a lot of internal processing came to an effortless conclusion. Does it come more or less naturally for you or is it a hidden labor of love?

It can vary really. Sometimes it happens almost instantaneously, sometimes smoothly, and other times it’s the last thing that’s done, painstakingly, only because the music demands it and no one else will do it. Other times it doesn’t work at all!

I love some of the interludes and instrumental tracks on your albums. They tie in with the whole but feel like their own little worlds. Do these feel like an escape for you compared to the vocal tracks? They resonate like a personal vacation within an already private world. Do you have a different relationship with or process while writing them?

That’s a beautiful comment! Definitely a different relationship with the vocals, or “apparent self”, removed. Sometimes they’re just songs that don’t call for vocals, other times they’re moments of respite…

We all need some fantasy in our lives. In the spirit of Halloween, favorite cryptid or mythological creature?

Growing up I believed most of the places I lived were haunted, so ghosts had a pretty eerie sway on my life for some time. Not sure about a favorite though. I think forest elves and fairies would be cool. More fantastical, benign woodsy creatures would be nice.

Any other bands from Detroit you’re keen on that people should look out for?

My friends make good music; Austin, who performs under his own name. Marrvisser (MRVSR). Quality Cinema. Veldt. The New Me. I always enjoyed the artists featured on the Nostilevo label, many of which do or used to reside in Detroit. Kevin of Forever Grey/Denim used to play shows around here, which I enjoyed as well. A big inspiration to me were the DJ events and shows hosted in and around Detroit by Justin & Dan of Something Cold, where they’d spin minimal synth, coldwave, post-punk, and all sorts of romantic and deranged deep-cut vinyl of raw persuasion for over a decade now. Real heads.

Soft Touch can also be found on:

Spotify
Bandcamp
Youtube

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