In the first week of September, 2024, Marley Carroll released “One More Year” on Anjunadeep’s new Explorations imprint. Building on an impressive roster of supporters ranging from BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 6, Radio Ibiza, to KCRW and KEXP, the UKG-infused EP marked a high point for the producer, forecasting a massive year ahead.
Three weeks later, Hurricane Helene devastated his hometown of Asheville, NC.
The unfolding tragedy put a hard stop to the momentum, forcing Carroll and his partner to evacuate in order to reset, rebuild, and navigate the aftermath. What was poised to be a global breakout suddenly became a profound waypoint for transformation.
This introspective environment provided the substrate for his new EP, Southern Research Station. Named after the natural resources research outpost near his home studio, SRS finds Carroll returning to the natural world, a perennial source of inspiration that seeded his acclaimed past LPs Sings and Flight Patterns.
“Cicadas” immediately grounds the listener in the forested environment, sampling the rushing, choral roar of the Brood XIV cicadas that descended on Asheville in the summer of 2025. Album centerpiece “Chroma Falls” propels the energy, enveloping the listener in a pointillistic cascade of waterfalling arpeggios. “Green Flash” channels classic Boards of Canada with bit-crushed vocal samples and warbling Moog synths over smoked-out drums. An ethereal, detuned sample of a thrush unveils album closer “Open Like The Sky,” an electro roller that builds into an airburst of blinking synths, crow calls and atmospheric rushes to end the expedition.
Richly detailed and hypnotic, Southern Research Station contains the kind of three-dimensional depth that invites immersive, intentional listening, and shows what happens when a seasoned producer turns away from global stages and finds his footing in the earth.