Headlock - endless
Artwork - “Headlock”
When I was fifteen years old, I was trying my hardest to create the best dunker that ever existed in NBA 2K11’s MyCareer, and I needed to have the name to go along with it. I tried to think of the coolest last name to go with my first name, Michael, and what better name could my fifteen-year-old self come up with than Michael Armstrong? Pretty freakin sweet name; and the confidence it gave drove me to excel. I remember winning the dunk contest every year, winning multiple championships, scoring 142 points on all windmills dunks: effectively turning Wilt Chamberlin's record into the petting zoo of the circus that was Michael Armstrong. Now, as I gaze upon the sunset of my various playing careers at age twenty-seven, I wonder, “what would have happened if I had used that time wisely?”
Meet Endless, a sixteen-year-old producer from Nottingham, England, and he just might be the answer to my existential question. When I first started getting into different spaces online, Endless was one of the first people I met, and right away, a couple of things jumped out to me. The first was the quality of whatever he decides to put his mind to. Every time I heard something, whether full tracks or works in progress, whatever he touches is special. The second thing I took into account was how vast the landscape is of what he actually does make, and although he doesn’t have a set genre, he is a multi-talented Swiss Army Knife of a producer. From Deep House to classic Hip-Hop, Future Beats to Future Rave, I’d bet my money on Endless anytime, any day of the week.
His most recent song, “Headlock”, features the classic Imogen Heap record by the same name, and for a minute and some change, the electronic ecosystem he creates to support the spellbinding nature of Heap’s voice, which takes a liking to a Siren than a singer. As the energy builds, you start feeling something in your chest. The space expands, the groove comes in and you’re hooked, with the drums entering with a presence that feels more like a religious ceremony than a House record. The beat is pulsing, the rhythm is addictive, and you feel like this could never end; it should never end. This is what living feels like.
Endless does stuff like this on a daily basis, and I don’t think he’s going to stop. He recently started classes at one of the top Music Colleges in England, and his thirst for knowledge is still actively present. I know some people who wouldn’t care to “get better”, who would coast and ride their ability, and not look to broaden their horizons or push themselves to an even greater version of themselves.
Truly one of the best and brightest young talents in the world. I look forward to watching whatever Endless does next because I’m sure it’ll break my expectations like he always has.
