Edwin Raphael's music is a little hard to describe. I did my best when I reviewed his stunning sophomore album Warm Terracotta last year, but I really just urge you to give him a listen for yourself. It's been five years since the 2019 release of the Montrealer's full-length debut, Will You Think of Me Later?, which the Exclaim! New Faves alum is celebrating with the release of a deluxe edition of the record arriving in May.
"Will You Think of Me Later?'s inklings were strongly founded in a series of recurring dreams I was having through 2017 and 2018 — something that has been prevalent throughout my life," Raphael explained in a release. "I would share my dreams at breakfast with Amma and she'd tell me her dreams were lucid as mine. One such recurring dream was me arriving on the island, and it's on this island where the concept of Will You Think of Me Later? found its roots."
Will You Think of Me Later? - Deluxe is led by "Isle of Strawberries Reimagined," featuring vocals from London, UK-based Spanish singer MAVICA — the first of three new world-spanning collaborations to appear on the expanded version, which also features US artist zachy and India-based Dhruv Visvanath.
Of the first, Raphael continued:
One particular dream was when I found myself on the island covered in an uneasy amount of dirt. I have an irrational tendency about being dirty perhaps based in the words of Amma, "The grimier you are, the less people will take you seriously." In my alarming discovery of the enemy I was cloaked in, I found myself not exploring the island in the usual way, but instead hurried to find somewhere I could wash off. Upon waking, I replayed the dream and discovered that in my anxious state I had run across multiple fields of strawberries, paying no attention to the beauty around me. This lingered on my mind for weeks before I finally made sense of it, trying to write a song comparing my dream to how humans have this innate disposition to focus on something that is so miniscule. This in turn hinders us as we miss out on the beauty around us. This was conducive in the making of "Isle of Strawberries."
Listen to the serene, swirling "Isle of Strawberries Reimagined" below, where you'll also find the full deluxe tracklist.
Will You Think of Me Later? - Deluxe:
1. Sober
2. She Might Like Summer
3. Elephant Crossing
4. Isle of Strawberries
5. Bergamot Feels (feat. Madson.)
6. Bloom (feat. wordsbyjuni)
7. A Particular Mood
8. Everything Is Aesthetic
9. Thrills Sought After
10. Green Eyes
11. Tangerine Skies (feat. Claire Ridgely)
12. Will You Think of Me Later?
13. Denim Darlin'
14. ~recurring dream~
15. Isle of Strawberries Rediscovered (feat. zachy)
16. Elephant Crossing (A Late Afternoon Special) [feat. Dhruv Visvanath]
17. Isle of Strawberries Reimagined (feat. MAVICA)
18. See Through
19. Lie To Me
20. Contemplating Caving
21. Will You Think of Me Later? - Live
22. Elephant Crossing - Live