London-via-Guernsey artist China Aster has dropped his irresistible new synth-pop banger, ‘Memories’. It’s a euphorically nostalgic track that conjures up an instantly recognisable eighties influence through its playful, glossy synth work and punchy, gated snare. His arrangements and long, indulgent vocal lines are reminiscent of dance-pop pioneers like Kylie Minogue. China Aster, real name Joshua Moore, says: “I think the song looks at how memory can both entrap and free us. Our past shapes our neurosis and its symptoms but recollection can also be a kind of escapology out of the vicious cycles of habit.” Keep an eye out for more from this synth-pop revivalist over the course of 2024. -Dan Peeke