New Earthquake Island: “Naked Water” Featuring Mocca

“Naked Water” isn’t a religious experience…well, not for me at least…but it sure sounds holy. Or at least like it deserves to be performed inside a church. Earthquake Island wisely keep the bulk of the music simple – the beat is serviceable, but importantly non-intrusive, doing its job and stepping aside – and let voices carry this to another plain. Most prominent is a sample of a chorus, a gorgeous whirl of voices blanketing the song. Then there’s the contributions of Mocca, who ranks pretty high on the Bjork-ish scale. She wraps her singing wonderfully around the song, stretching out words to just the right length. Earthquake Island help layer her vocals just right, making for an absorbing track.

Sometimes, remixes tacked onto a single can be pretty forgettable, but here Earthquake Island find some folks who contribute some really strong reworks. Yakamoto Kotzuga’s mix blows everything up, making the song way more intense, while Go Yama approaches it from a more whirring angle, one with a slight hip-hop edge. Listen to all of ’em below, or get it here.