For a band whose music often feels untethered from time and place, Night Tapes’ live session for Audiotree offers something completely grounded. Recorded in Chicago and released on streaming platforms in February 2026, Night Tapes on Audiotree Live transforms the London-based group’s expansive, atmospheric sound into something both deeply intimate and immersive.
The group—comprised of Tallinn-born Iiris Vesik (vocals and guitar), Max Richard Doohan (bass), Samuel Richards (guitar and synth), and William Edward Woodfine (drums)—bridges Estonian and international influences, with Vesik's voice acting as the emotional centrepiece of their sound. Their work drifts between synth pop, shoegaze, trip hop, and ambient, forming a transcendent, cosmic listening experience.
Over the past year, Night Tapes have performed at shows around the world, gaining recognition across the indie and electronic scene in Europe and abroad. In fact, portals//polarities (2025) earned them the Best Alternative/Indie Album award at the Estonian Music Awards in Tallinn this past January.
Their latest project, Night Tapes on Audiotree Live, revisits tracks from across their discography, including an earlier single “Selene” (2023) and selections from portals//polarities, including “Swordsman,” “Patience,” and “Leave It All Behind.” That particular album weaves together field recordings from a bubbling swamp in Tallinn, wildlife and birdsong from Mexico, and a police helicopter in Los Angeles, transforming them into dreamy electronic soundscapes (Audiotree). The Audiotree session distills that world-building into a more intimate, but equally transportive, format.
Each track traces the movement from idealization—of one’s self, relationships, and the world—toward the acceptance of reality and the imperfection it carries.
From its opening moments, the performance leans into something cosmic and almost otherworldly. Layers build gradually: soft synths pulse beneath Vesik's vocals, percussion enters at a distance, and melodies unfold into an expanse where time seems to stretch and contract.
Yet despite that sense of vastness, a clear emotional arc grounds the experience. Each track traces the movement from idealization—of one’s self, relationships, and the world—toward the acceptance of reality and the imperfection it carries.
The opening track, “Selene,” sets the tone with its ethereal sound, foregrounding the nebulous pull of unattainable perfection: “Tell me if we could be integrated/The reflection of a goddess in me/She's only perfect 'cause she's far away,” sings Vesik. That longing carries into “Swordsman,” where fantasy collides with reality: “Could you choose me over an idea?/To hurt me is to hurt yourself.” By the time the set reaches its close, “Storm” resolves this tension with grounded clarity, shifting from imagined ideals toward imperfect reality: “I wanna see who you really are/I wanna feel who you really are/You need to show up, babe/ Even if it looks like a storm.” This progression is mirrored in the arrangement, which gradually expands into something fuller and warmer, as if those earlier nebulous feelings have been illuminated by the optimism that a new day brings. Vesik’s closing line, “It’s another blessed day,” lingers as a warm embrace.
You can watch the live performance on YouTube and listen to the EP on streaming platforms!
This article was written by Natalie Jenkins as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.
