Portland-based producer FENRA makes a stunning first impression with “COFFEE,” a debut single that feels like waking up inside a lucid dream, familiar, yet quietly surreal. Released on October 3rd via 6x Records, the track introduces FENRA’s sonic identity with a blend of organic texture and digital precision, merging hammered dulcimer, pitched-down vocals, and warm, woozy atmospherics into something that lives between ambient introspection and emotional storytelling.
If Caribou and Four Tet built a song together while half-asleep in a cozy, late-night studio, it might sound something like “COFFEE.” But FENRA (the new electronic project of Portland artist B. Laws) isn’t just chasing influence, he’s reshaping it. His production style takes cues from ambient, downtempo, and minimalist worlds, but it’s the human touch that makes “COFFEE” stand out. Every sound feels like it’s been handcrafted, from the dulcimer’s metallic shimmer to the hypnotic pulse of reverb-drenched pads that stretch and swirl around the listener.
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The track opens gently, soft percussive taps that echo like raindrops hitting glass, before the dulcimer emerges, striking a rhythmic pattern that’s both intricate and meditative. Then comes the vocal work: subtly pitched, ghostly, and emotionally grounded. FENRA manipulates his own voice until it becomes another instrument, weaving in and out of the mix like a half-remembered thought. It’s not a song that tells you what to feel, it pulls you into the feeling.
And the feeling here is hazy yet focused. Like that liminal moment between sleep and waking, or the first sip of morning coffee when the world is still half-dream.
What makes “COFFEE” even more intriguing is how confidently it establishes the tone of FENRA’s upcoming EP, Delusional (out November 28, 2025). It’s not just an introduction, it’s a promise. A promise of sonic experimentation that still remembers emotion, a kind of modern electronic storytelling that’s cinematic in its scope but deeply personal at its core.
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Mastered by Aneek Thapar (known for work with Rival Consoles and Max Cooper), the sound design here is immaculate. Every frequency feels intentional, no clutter, no overproduction. The low end hums like distant thunder, while the top end glows softly, leaving space for the dulcimer’s resonance to breathe. It’s a track that rewards both headphone introspection and late-night speaker sessions.
In his own words, FENRA says, “The hammered dulcimer/pitched vocal combo is not something I had heard before, and I really like the way it turned out.” That curiosity, that willingness to experiment with sound in pursuit of emotion, is exactly what makes “COFFEE” such a captivating debut. It doesn’t try to overwhelm. It unfolds. Slowly, beautifully, like steam rising from a mug.
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