Cedric Noel :: Nighttime (Skin)

Cedric Noel is a one-man song factory. From his home base in Montreal, he’s bounced from genre to genre, producing emotionally driven indie-rockambient synth music, and romantic electro-pop under his Special Solace alias. While each of these projects show off a versatility and voracious musical curiosity, they all contain the connective tissue of Noel’s rich baritone voice. Up next on his list of territory to explore is the heavier reverb-drone rock sound of “Nighttime (Skin),” a song hinting at the direction of Noel’s upcoming release. Showcasing both his knack for heartrending melodies and Dinosaur Jr.-sized riffs, its lyrics are informed by his ongoing struggles with self-identity

“To me, it’s a happy song,” says Noel. “It’s a reminder for me that I’m Black and to be proud of that. It’s also an acknowledgement that I hadn’t been doing that for a while, which comes from the context of the music scenes I’ve been lucky enough to take part in. It’s a bit different in Montreal, where there are a lot of Black musicians, but you can often be the only person of color in a crowd. That can be disorienting when you straddle a bunch of different worlds, but also realize that it is your world, and wonder why other people aren’t feeling the same way.” words/j locke