Do you want to know what will music sound like next year? Maybe you should listen to the latest track, Silver, by English producer A. G. Cook. The instruments have been reduced to shards of sound. The beats have been chopped up into digital bits. The only recognizable instruments are a topline synth and his voice. Everything else has been deconstructed. It sounds like what is going on in the world right now. It also sounds like what artists will gravitate towards when they hear this. Sure they will smooth the rough edges and make it more commercial, but this track has shunted the sound of pop towards a new north star. No surprise that Cook has already worked with English singer Charli XCX and produced for the likes of Jonsi, Caroline Polachek, Hannah Diamond, Li Yuchun, among others. So already he is a tastemaker. But this track feels different, more important, and ultimately more of a lasting influence.
