Thomas Arsenault, aka Mas Ysa is an interesting dude — in addition to being a composer and musician who’s toured with Hundred Waters, Deerhunter, and most recently Tanlines, he’s also a visual artist whose work has been displayed in various exhibitions across New York. This year the Canadian-bred artist released his debut LP Seraph via Downtown Records (Chet Faker, Electric Guest). Hearing him speak you wouldn’t think he’d be one to reveal all of his interior complexities so readily, but that is in fact Mas Ysa’s M.O. — pouring all of his fervid feelings into his experimental and genre-bending music.
Take “Arrows” for example, an affective track that commences as a ballad with a breakbeat, picking up speed at the 2-minute mark and eventually bursting into a full-on banger. In a press release Arsenault says as much: “’Arrows’ is sort of a Euro club banger, but also a very personal love song. It comes out of me wanting to make a universal, club-ready track but unwittingly giving into emotion.” His distinctive voice reminds us a little of Rationale in that it’s unconventional in tone, but somehow adds to the potency of the song. Stream “Arrows” below.
poetry in an empty coke can 