Imaginary Future

The music of Imaginary Future feels like a deep, steady exhale. It is built on the foundation of Jesse Epstein's incredibly soft, breathy vocals and the delicate chime of an acoustic guitar. There is a profound sense of stillness here, as if the songs were recorded in the middle of the night to avoid waking anyone in the next room. It is warm, inviting, and consistently tender.

What sets this project apart is the focus on extreme intimacy. By stripping away the clutter of modern production, Epstein allows the texture of the strings and the grain of his voice to become the primary focus. His penchant for reimagining well-known hits as fragile, slowed-down folk ballads has also become a signature, revealing the hidden emotional core of songs that were originally designed for the dancefloor or the radio.

Start with the album Fire Escape for his original songwriting, which captures a specific kind of modern romantic longing. If you want to hear his unique interpretive style, his cover of Tame Impala's Feels Like We Only Go Backwards transforms a psychedelic anthem into a devastatingly beautiful lullaby.