For Adelaide artist ~, music has always been a way of working things out. Formerly known as Ridgy, he began releasing music under that name in 2020, gradually finding his place in the underground through collaborations with artists like MAVI and Camden Malik, as well as the wider Hidden Renaissance circle. The move to ~ feels like an extension of that process: less a reinvention than a decision to leave some things unresolved.
That idea runs through his latest album, Eyes to See and Ears to Hear. The record is deeply reflective, but it never feels overly serious or weighed down by its own spirituality. Instead, ~ builds a warm, psychedelic world from dusty samples, spacious production and hypnotic rhythms, giving the album plenty of room to breathe.
“The road I go” sets the tone from the start. Reverb hangs around the samples while a heavy bassline gives the track some grounding, creating a hazy backdrop for ~ to think through questions of direction and purpose. “I’ll get to where I’m going,” featuring KAYEMJAE, pushes that idea further, pairing gospel-leaning warmth with rougher textures and verses about persistence.
Elsewhere, the album shifts between movement and introspection. “Techniques” brings Wakai into a lighter, more buoyant groove, while “A walk in my mind” gets stranger and more inward, using glitchy percussion and looping rhythms to mirror the feeling of getting lost in your own thoughts.
The quieter moments are just as important. “We’ll make it out again” sits with uncertainty without letting it take over, and “Jacob’s ladder,” featuring Austin Fox, slowly builds its emotional weight rather than forcing a big moment. By the time “Brand new day” arrives, the atmosphere has cleared. Its crisp, airy production feels like the first deep breath after a difficult stretch.
That sense of release is ultimately what ties the album together. Eyes to See and Ears to Hear isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about paying attention while you’re still figuring it out — to doubt, faith, mistakes, progress and whatever comes next.
For ~, the search itself seems to be the point. And across this album, he turns that search into something listeners can step inside.
Listen to Eyes to See and Ears to Hear here:
