Columbus-born DJ, musician and producer OLAN announces her stunning debut on all my thoughts with “Backseat,” off her latest EP Nimbus Clouds, out via Seb Wildblood’s acclaimed imprint.
Following releases on influential labels like Ninja Tune and Anjunadeep, OLAN (real name Luzana Flores) continues to carve her unique space in electronic music alongside pioneering artists like Jlin, Björk, Ellen Allien, Mira Calix, and Anna Meredith. Her innovative sound has earned support from BBC Radio 1, with features in DJ Mag, Stereofox and beyond. With Nimbus Clouds, she presents her most personal work yet — a delicate three-track EP tracing the emotional terrain between grief and reconnection.
“Backseat” explores submission in its most tender form, built around the act of giving up control in love. Steady mechanical thuds and shudders gradually unfurl before Olan’s voice soars into a defined yet gentle space, with whispering incidentals weaving through the stereo field and muted bass driving the progression forward.
“It leans into the bliss of giving up control,” explains Olan. “I was just pulling from the chorus, but I think the title plays into that theme.”
The track exemplifies Olan’s evolution as an artist who refuses to choose between dancefloor sensibilities and songwriting tenderness. Rooted in the Nevada desert and recorded over seven days in Las Vegas with longtime collaborators, Nimbus Clouds captures what she describes as “a sonic exhale after a period of deep personal unrest.”
“I’ve always felt I had to choose between making dance beats and being a songwriter,” she reflects. “This record taught me to move slower, to reconnect with my friends, and to let my music be something I finish with people, not in isolation.”
This return to collaboration marked both an artistic homecoming and an act of self-preservation for the producer. “Vegas is where OLAN first gained momentum,” she explains. “It’s where I didn’t have to choose. This EP is me at my most natural.”
