Music

Track Of The Week: "Vapour" by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

by Chris Budd

Vancouver Sleep Clinic is 17 year old Brisbane, Australia native Tim Bettinson and currently, this guy has the #1 and #5 spots on the most popular songs (no remixes) on the Hype Machine. As a great indicator of what’s hot online, you can say this guy is taking over with his blend of ambient folk, similar to the vocal delivery and stylings of what made Bon Iver famous. So how do you take over the charts like that?

A few months back, us bloggers discovered his debut song “Vapour”; haunting, with airy elements, soaring falsetto, and a gentle blended acoustic guitar. Last week, we got our second taste of his music with “Collapse.” That song also rose to the top of the charts, while the fact that “Vapour” was either re-posted or mentioned in these posts as a reference, the latter flew back on the list as well. Combine this with American Thanksgiving (there’s not a lot of press releases going out and less frequent posting on blogs), you have the right conditions to dominate the charts.

Vancouver Sleep Clinic as a name in itself conjures up imagery of long cold winters, isolation, and remoteness, and the sometimes self-imposed reclusiveness in all of us as the days get shorter and we move into the bitter months ahead. After months of assembling lyrics and instrumentation from various maths books, notes, whiteboards, and bedroom walls, humbly working with scattered cheap microphones, an old laptop, and an outdated keyboard, Vancouver Sleep Clinic’s debut EP was born.

Even though both tracks are solid, I’m going to point you to his debut, “Vapour.”