‘Memory Lane’ finds the sweet spot between lo-fi haze and electronic pop.
We are very here for independent artists doing things on their own terms.
Not sitting around waiting for a label to come calling, and certainly not asking permission before building the whole thing themselves.
Artists like Ixaras and Squidgenini have shown how good that approach can be, and PanKoi is very much operating in the same spirit.
The 20-year-old Colombian-born, Mornington Peninsula-based trans artist produces, writes and performs his own music, and earlier this year went one further by founding independent label Strawberry Milk Records.
Maybe some of that DIY energy comes from looking at the existing system and thinking, nah, I can do this differently. Whatever the reason, thankfully there are artists willing to have a crack. Makes everything feel slightly more hopeful.
And ‘Memory Lane’ is a total mood from the get-go.
A dance beat rolls underneath dreamy, almost shoegazey vocals, with little backing harmonies floating in and out of the mix.
There’s electronic pop at its core, but PanKoi keeps enough haze around the edges to stop it becoming too clean.
The production, made with Giulio Catena, keeps things light on its feet, even when the song itself is looking back at something a little messier.
The lead vocal is a huge part of why it works.
There’s no giant pop belting or attempt to overpower the production. Instead, his vocal stays cool, low-key and grounded, and that restraint gives the song a moody lo-fi, alternative quality.
It also suits what ‘Memory Lane’ is actually about: looking backwards at a relationship, the things that weren’t said properly, and all the regret that arrives once it’s too late to fix them.
“This is the vibe-iest song I have to date! But don’t be fooled, the lyrics are actually quite sad,” PanKoi says. “They are a journey into the fallout of a relationship and wanting things to go back to what they were.”
There’s something very compelling about putting those feelings over a beat you could happily dance to.
And we absolutely would.
I want this on a dance floor. I want it playing in my lounge. I want it at the next party, probably several times.
It follows PanKoi’s 2025 debut EP GERMINATION, which began moving his music away from acoustic songwriting and further into electronic production.
‘Memory Lane’ feels like a natural continuation of that shift, but also a considerable step forward: dreamy dance-pop, experimental electronics and indie sensibilities all folding into one another without sounding particularly interested in fitting neatly anywhere.
That last bit is probably the appeal.
Between his music, visual work and Strawberry Milk Records – which he founded to help create more space for emerging queer and neurodivergent musicians – PanKoi is clearly thinking beyond the standard artist trajectory.
He’s building his own little universe around the songs.
And at 20, he has plenty of time to make it as strange as he likes.
“Come with me down memory lane,” PanKoi beckons.
We suggest you follow.
Because somewhere between that beat, those hazy vocals and PanKoi’s willingness to do the whole thing his own way, I think I may have found my next favourite artist.
Can’t imagine that changing anytime soon.
Check out ‘Memory Lane’ here.
