Cairo-based producer, songwriter and live electronic act Chiati joins collaborates with artist KairoKid on ‘Feels Like I’m Dreaming’, landing on Greece’s Madorasindahouse’s MIDH Selects #7 Pt. 3. The track brings Chiati’s electronic production together with KairoKid’s R&B-led vocal, building its arrangement around a prominent lead synth and a steadily developing rhythm section.
The production starts with KairoKid’s vocal sitting over a melodic electronic backdrop before Chiati gradually layers in percussion and synth parts. The arrangement eventually opens up into an extended lead-synth passage, the lyrics follow a relationship stuck in a repetitive loop: both people recognise that it isn’t working, but neither quite manages to walk away. The writing moves between romanticising the situation, convincing yourself that things will change and gradually recognising the pattern. The track’s title reflects that tension, sitting somewhere between actually believing in the relationship and knowing you’re probably fooling yourself.
“A lot of the songs I write talk about me, my emotions, my feelings and my experiences. But I was working with a super talented singer who writes about stories that touch him, even if they don’t happen to him. ‘Feels Like I’m Dreaming’ was the first time I actually did that. Someone I know was going through a toxic, back-and-forth relationship, and it affected me, it touched me. It made me write the lyrics about that.”
‘Feels Like I’m Dreaming’ continues Chiati’s recent run of vocal-led material while keeping the melodic writing and live instrumentation at the centre of the production. Here, that approach is paired with R&B vocals, layered synths and a longer instrumental section that gives the track room to move beyond its initial song structure.
