Self-isolation has been a difficult time for everyone – our social lives reduced to almost nothing, and nightlife and clubbing seeming like a distant faded memory. ‘Idle’, the latest track from Leeds student Nick Moore, who produces and DJs under the name Figgis, aims to encapsulate that bittersweet feeling so many of us feel of wanting to go out and dance but being unable to.

‘Idle’ seems readymade for the dancefloor, sounding like a lo-fi garage tune but with melodic synth lines that seem to engulf themselves around you. Listening to the track is a strange experience, as it builds in such a way that you feel compelled to move your body to it, but are also presented with the realisation of there being no place available to do it. This year has been a bit of a phantom year for the world of dance music, with so many people forced to move the nightclub to their own bedrooms, and this feeling shines through the track – an anthem for isolation times.

The B-side “Hours” is a war of tension between dreamlike instrumentation and a rising, stirring bassline. It’s a fitting companion to ‘Idle’, built around another gospel sample, but is more mellow, letting you float away from the music into the space of your own cavernous thoughts. Together, “Idle” and “Hours” almost seem like the start and end of an imaginary night, a track you’d play to get you in the mood at the beginning, and a track you’d play at the afters to reflect upon everything when it’s done. It is such a shame that there are no real experiences at the moment for us to relate these tracks to.

Header image: Lucy Powell