Named after his childhood imaginary friend, Eleanor Collides is the solo music project of London-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Nick Ranga. The talented artist melds alternative, indie and dream rock with synth pop to create his distinctly melancholic, yet beautiful sound. I love how he’s described his influences: “I find inspiration in the cathartic vulnerability of Low, the poetic storytelling of R.E.M., the passionate anthems of Manic Street Preachers, the genre-defying artistry of Orville Peck, and the darkly captivating electronica of Depeche Mode. These influences, among many others, have shaped my artistic vision, allowing me to carve out a unique sonic identity.”

Though he’d been writing songs for many years, he finally started recording and releasing music in the summer of 2021, beginning with a four-track EP How to Make Friends. He followed up with a couple of singles, then in March 2022, he released his debut album People are Taller in Real Life. Since then, the prolific artist has dropped eight more singles, one of which, the hauntingly beautiful “Pantomime“, I featured in a Fresh New Tracks this past April. Today he’s back with his latest single “Daydreams and Algorithms“, another outstanding track. All eight singles will be included in his forthcoming second album, due for release later in the year.

For the recording of the song, Nick sang lead vocals and played guitars, bass, piano, drums and strings, and Charles Connolly, who mixed and mastered the track, played marimba and sang backing vocals. Though “Daydreams and Algorithms” starts off slowly, with just a simple, rather melancholic strummed guitar, it soon becomes clear that there’s a lot going on musically. As the song progresses, the instrumentation expands into a captivating soundscape, with added guitar, piano and warm strings, accompanied by Charles’ enchanting marimba and Nick’s steady drumbeats and moody bassline. Nick’s pleasing, low-key vocals have a comforting, almost sensuous quality, nicely complemented by his and Charles’ ethereal backing harmonies. It’s a stunning song.

As to the song’s meaning, Nick says it’s “about longing and obsession in the age of social media, about falling in love with someone through a screen who may or may not be real.” 

I can hear the sound of dreams
The cigarettes and faded blue jeans
The photographs and played back scenes
Never knowing what they mean

I can see your days collide
The indecision codified
The fantasies and rising tide
History happens in real time

ooh ooh ooh

You could be my daydream
My landslide, my slipstream
My devil chasing moonbeams
Intention lost to the mainstream

I could be your joyride
Your agent on the outside
Your lowest low and highest tide
Watch as I revert to type

ooh ooh ooh

Connect with Eleanor Collides:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Find his music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Soundcloud