Tropics (Chris Ward), the British-born, LA-based producer and musician, is back with his most dynamic work to date, “Dulcimer Dive”. Blending indie rock, post-punk, and electronica with a grittier, DIY approach achieved entirely in his Los Angeles studio. This track comes off his new album Reality Fever, out via his own imprint Modern Entity.
Following the release of hypnotic single “Cherry” and the reflective “Ionian Mirage”, Reality Fever explores emotional extremes through textural nuance and genre fusion. The album serves as a sonic dive into the inner monologue of modern life, balancing beat-driven catharsis with quiet introspection.
“This album highlights a lot of emotional states but the focus for me was anxiety, spiralling, social pressure and the intensity of inner monologue that grips you and is hard to silence,” explains Ward. “I felt thrashing out and making an album with a hard lean on live instruments again was huge therapy for me, especially as I wanted to create something I could blast in the car. Heavy drums and rhythmic strumming on the bass, against all the soundscapes that aim to space you out and send you somewhere else.”
Entirely self-written, produced, and recorded by Ward, Reality Fever captures the contrast between being chilled out and experiencing throbbing underlying angst. The album shifts seamlessly between Mediterranean daydreams and raw emotional release, creating what Ward calls “a contrast of being chilled/spaced-out but this throbbing underlying angst.”
