Tim Atlas Returns With ‘QUOTA’ EP (Out Today Via Nettwerk)
July 9, 2021 BY Nettwerk
The LA-based artist, songwriter, and producer, Tim Atlas, shares his new five-track EP, QUOTA (out now via Nettwerk Records). The full release comes off the back of the recent single, “Courtside,” which found tips at FLOOD, The Line of Best Fit, Atwood Magazine, and more. As a full body of work, QUOTA exemplifies Tim’s growing mastery of modern pop. The EP provides another addition to a catalog – which also includes collaborations with slenderbodies, honeywhip (“Peace At Last“), and Kartell – that has earned support from Paste Magazine, Complex, Zane Lowe (Beats 1), KCRW, Clash, Hunger and more.
The focus track for today’s release, “Water,” provides one of QUOTA‘s iciest cuts with Atlas coming to terms with his own mental health. It finds the singer disconnected from the happiness of the world around him, evocatively describing his depression as both water that engulfs him and a monster circling beneath the surface. Wringing out every ounce of empathy in the track, Atlas has perfectly judged the glacial production, with sparkling yet skeletal synth and some neo-bluesy guitar picking away at his psyche.
“Throughout the last year, I’ve felt the full spectrum of emotions, feeling balanced in my life then unbalanced, bouncing back and forth,” explains Atlas. Not letting it disrupt his flow, Atlas has used this continuous tipping between light and dark, optimistic and pessimistic, to fuel the QUOTA EP. Having started the earliest seeds pre-pandemic, Atlas found himself forced to transplant his studio to his living room to keep working once the stay-at-home order took hold. Rather than limit him, he found it was freeing, and the result is a set of pristine modern pop songs that can’t be pinned down to one genre or style. With a sound that can be traced back to the cerebral arrangements of Tame Impala, the timeless pop of The Gap Band, and the moody contemplation of Men I Trust, QUOTA finds a self-confessed introvert coming to terms with the added strains of a life in lockdown.
As a multi-faceted creative, Atlas a photographer, videographer, and graphic designer. Known for his unique brand of downtempo R&B and Neo-soul akin to the sounds of Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, and Rex Orange County, Tim initially made waves with his debut EP, All Talk! From there, he went on to pick up significant support amongst radio tastemakers and the press. After amassing over 40 million streams and love from Spotify, Apple Music, and more, Atlas embarked on a global tour marking key shows in London, New York, and Los Angeles, supporting The Magic City Hippies and Gold Room, debuting his first festival appearances at The Great Escape Festival in UK and Noise Pop in San Francisco.
QUOTA is available at all digital retailers; Click Here: https://timatlas.ffm.to/quota.
Tracklist:
1. Quota (Intro)
2. Peace At Last
3. Water
4. Wallflower
5. Courtside