This is music without beginning or end, an aura that Johan Hoffman conjures with "Waves" and leaves hanging in the air after its closing notes have faded. The song is the third single from his upcoming album, "Day One," and it's easily among his most quietly daring songs to date.
"Waves" is at its heart simple, voice and guitar, with just a whisper of Moog, all live, no safety nets of loops, clicks, digital grids. However, it's that minimal, stripped-down approach that allows the piece to come alive and breathe. Each strum, each breath, each tiny shift becomes part of the fabric, generating a kind of hypnotic intimacy that modern production tends to polish away. Minimalist in design but striking in its effect, it's a clear environment that pulls you in, then moves out to sea.
It's the heartbeat that is the signature guitar riff. It's grounding and also expansive, a figure that feels eternal, as if it has always been present, waiting to be unearthed. The song had an instrumental life first, and you can hear in the way the guitar does so much of the emotional work. But when the words did come, they introduced a new dimension, a tender meditation on existence, the cosmos, and the invisible threads that connect us. The verses bubble with wonder and awe, while the chorus provides a grounding mantra, an embrace of the moment at hand, uncertainties and all.
It has a meditative quality that marks it out as one of those perfect late-night listens, or for the in-between moments when the world winds down and the mind drifts. It would belong on a rainy or moody playlist, but it doesn't even want to be the background. Instead, what it requires is presence, like sitting by the ocean and watching the tide come in.