Last month, quickly rising Queens-born, Thai-Chilean artist, Araya, became a part of Spotify’s first-ever partnership program for independent artists, the Spotify Fresh Finds Program, alongside Doss, Toledo, and Pom Pom Squad. As part of the initiative, Araya was paired with Brooklyn producer, Mindchatter, to record an original Spotify Single in NYC’s iconic Electric Lady Studios.

Listen to their track “Lost” HERE + take a behind the scenes look at the making of the it HERE.

Araya’s soulful R&B vocals shine bright on “Lost,” a woozy late-night club jam filled with techno beats and Mindchatter’s complex samples that beautifully complement his wide range and breathy falsetto. Of the new track, Araya says, “’Lost’ is a song depicting my reaction to the ‘hesitant lover.’ I think this hesitancy can come from a safety that people need to feel comfortable; although I’ve also felt wronged by love in the past, it’s important to breathe new life into new experiences. That’s why I feel it’s important to be hopeful and rarely naive (lost).” 

Mindchatter adds, “I’m used to working out of my dingy home studio so being at Electric Lady and working with other musicians in person was magical. Araya had a clear vision for the production and overall direction which made things easier for me. I also had a lot of freedom to tap into my own sound design and style. Araya writes fast and was able to make big decisions on the fly so we walked out of that session with the song pretty much finished”

Araya strikes with both precision and heart on “Lost”, his recent Y2K-produced single, “Archon,” and all throughout his forthcoming album, Ethos, due early 2022. The Brooklyn-based artist’s breakout debut released earlier this year, Atlas, garnered millions of streams, praise from the likes of Paper Mag, DJ Booth, Dummy, Office, among others, and placed Araya firmly at the crest of a new generation of stylistic polymaths, drawing comparisons to the likes of Jean Dawson, SPENCER., DESTIN CONRAD, and more. Araya grapples with purpose, identity, and spirituality in his music as he mixes vintage and futuristic sounds into a transfixing blend of R&B, soul, hip-hop, and electronic music.