We have built our site on the discovery of unknown singer songwriters. It has become a point of pride for us to be able to share such great artists with a larger audience. Truth is, there are far too many great storytellers out there who are criminally under the radar.
We had these thoughts when we came across young songwriter Dillon Masaru. We were immediately hit by his heartfelt style, and how it almost flies out of our speakers. He is genuine in a way we admire and are honored to support. On his new EP Present Tensions, we found some lovely gems. “This EP is my personal journey of searching for fulfillment and peace, shares Masaru. “This song is about me realizing that freedom was already within me at every challenging and triumphant step. Everything I encountered along the way pointed to look within.”
On “Remind Me”, the artist shows a hopeful spirit that sets him apart. A nicely textured folkish track, the backing vocals add more to the well crafted style. There is a hint of a sound similar to Frank Turner‘s less raucous tracks. While some of his tracks, like “Awaken Me”, pulls from known styles, his craft is definitely his own. This one serves as a good “backbone” of his EP and shows just how talented he is. It almost has a spiritual element to it, in how it raises spirits and emboldens hearts.
“Not Ready” has some of the artist’s best instrumentation. It shows his folk/Americana roots, while still showcasing a pop style that will connect him to a bigger audience. Throughout this one, and his other tracks, his uncertainty comes out, but still a heartfelt optimism wins out. The guitar solo on this one is especially appreciated.
