‘Parachutes’ is the new track from Orkney-born singer-songwriter Merlyn Driver. “I’ve been inspired by many different intercultural encounters,” he says. “Particularly through more than a decade of engagement with joik (the vocal tradition of the Sámi), and my other academic research into the ‘buzz aesthetic’ - a preference for ‘buzzy’ timbres and sounds found in various musical cultures including that of West African griot musicians.” He uses this buzzy aesthetic on the new single by placing cigarette papers under his guitar strings in a way that mimics the way talingalo spider egg sac membranes are used to create buzz on the balafon. It creates a unique texture that elevates his personal, lo-fi sound into a world of subtly experimental creativity. Merlyn Driver’s debut album, It Was Also Sometimes Daylight, is out on October 10th, 2025. -Dan Peeke