There is something deliberately unsettled about Chip Pirrs’ “Yellow From Green,” featuring Brooklyn singer Sarah High. The single occupies an unusual space between alternative pop, downtempo electronica and something considerably harder to categorize, building its identity through texture rather than chasing an obvious hook.
Released on March 27, “Yellow From Green” is the first glimpse of Pirrs’ forthcoming concept EP Spectrum of Blue, and it suggests that the New York songwriter and producer is becoming increasingly comfortable with making pop music that refuses to behave quite like pop music. That experimental instinct has long been central to Pirrs’ work, and his music is constructed through a meticulous, loop-based approach, often beginning with drum sounds and synth or piano motifs before gradually accumulating additional layers and vocals.
“Yellow From Green” makes particularly good use of that layered approach. Rather than immediately revealing where it is headed, the track appears to assemble itself piece by piece. Programmed percussion, understated melodic elements and gently processed vocals establish a hazy electronic environment, with each component given enough room to register individually.
There is an almost weightless quality to much of the arrangement, but it never becomes passive. The song carries a persistent feeling of movement beneath its dreamier surface, creating the impression that something is continually shifting just outside the listener’s focus. That quality fits neatly with the song’s broader fascination with transformation, as “Yellow From Green” is all about memory, identity and color gradually bleeding into one another.
Sarah High proves particularly well suited to that environment. Her soft, airy vocal presence does not dominate the production so much as become another texture inside it. The collaboration works because Pirrs resists turning her voice into a conventional centerpiece; instead, it contributes to the track’s strange sense of intimacy.
The cleverest moment arrives toward the final stretch. Much of “Yellow From Green” establishes a soothing, almost suspended electronic atmosphere before repetitive guitars begin intruding on it. What initially seems like a carefully controlled downtempo piece gradually exposes sharper edges, giving the track a sense of progression without relying on the predictable build-and-release mechanics of mainstream electronic pop.
“Yellow From Green” is experimental music done well because its eccentricity feels purposeful. As the opening statement for Spectrum of Blue, it is an intriguing one. It’s dreamy without becoming background music, experimental without sacrificing melody, and accessible without smoothing away the peculiarities that make Pirrs interesting in the first place.