Meet Hayden Eller. The man behind the music project, The Co Founder and an artist that has produced a moving EP titled Old Programs/New Beliefs. Using his own equipment to produce and mix his own material, Eller shows a fiery passion that has made him create songs that resonate quite well with the raw and honest acoustics. Even if this is only a start, his songwriting is profound and one that will provide a great sentiment to those wanting music that will build an emotional connection with themselves and the events that are happening around them.
It’s interesting to see the creativity that comes from this EP and the idea of the “[Opening Credits]” and “[Closing Remarks]” is like hearing a movie play in the background. These are in fact snippets off a meditation tape titled “Body Scan Meditation – Guided Meditation” by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn and I found that these provided an opportunity to just unwind before and after listening to the EP. However, I felt like these snippets of narration lost the flow of the EP and would’ve much rather preferred an opening and closing track – maybe if this was an LP, this approach could’ve worked.
Looking at the three tracks, “At Least That’s Clear”, “Cобака (Dog)” and “Like A Ghost” were solid tracks off the EP. Eller is a very visionary songwriter and its clear that these songs have very compelling stories behind them. There’s emotion, integrity and honesty that flows gently beneath his words and there’s no denying that these compliment so well with the acoustic/indie elements that resonate from these numbers. It has the same rawness and simplicity as you would find in Bon Iver or even Dashboard Confessional.
I’m impressed that Eller mixed and produced this himself because it has that fresh demo feel to them. However, I would’ve loved to see some ethereal soundscapes added, which could’ve made the EP more profound in terms of sound dynamics, making it more atmospheric and loud.
Overall, Old Programs/New Beliefs is a charming listen and it’s safe to say that Hayden Eller is a very talented songwriter. I’d love to see him in an actual recording studio one day because the potential these songs have with further production and mixing would be all kinds of amazing.
Review Score: 7.5 out of 10
Old Programs/New Beliefs is available now and can be streamed here.
———-
