Bali Ha’i is basically a retro-future piece from the new album, a cover song pulling influences from both 2000’s Goa Trance and 1950’s exotica and tiki lounge. There’s also a lot of digital turntable work in the middle. This piece is all over the place with its hybrid symphonic and electronic elements.

“Bali Ha’i” was originally written by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics) for their 1949 musical South Pacific, which was based on James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize–winning book Tales of the South Pacific (1947).

Story Behind “Bali Ha’i”:

In the musical, “Bali Ha’i” is a mysterious, dreamlike island visible from the main island where American military personnel are stationed during World War II. The song is sung by Bloody Mary, a Tonkinese merchant woman, to entice the young Lt. Cable to visit the island—her intention is to introduce him to her daughter, Liat.

While Bali Ha’i is fictional, it’s based on Ambae Island (formerly Aoba) in Vanuatu, which Michener saw from Espiritu Santo during his wartime service in the South Pacific. The name itself is inspired by Bali, but it’s not meant to reference the real island of Bali in Indonesia.

The song captures themes of longing, escape, seduction, and the mystical allure of the exotic—a perfect fit for the exotica genre later made popular by Martin Denny, Les Baxter and others. The melody is lush and haunting, and its mood of dreamy mysticism helped it transcend the musical and become a pop standard in the 1950s. I felt it deserved a Goa Trance remix, should we called it Tiki Trance? Trancexotica? ;)

The new album by Shatter the Matrix will contain various sorts of electronica, Goa trance, EDM, and hybrid cinematic orchestral styles. Enjoy!

Composed arranged and produced by Phil Justin.


Bali Ha'i

Mij Taz - a cyberpunk trapwave anthem from the underground streets of the neon night.

🎤 Male Ukrainian vocals run through vocoder FX and bitcrushed filters
🎸 Down-tuned guitars & dark analog synths
🔊 Heavy 808s, gated snares, and phonk-style swagger

This track is an ode to the ride that isn’t pretty - but it’s yours. It's loud. It smokes. And it has soul.

Inspired by late-night drifting, cracked taillights, and basslines that hit like your engine kicks.

Lyrics:

Мій ТАЗ - як перше кохання,
Газ у підлогу - і світ зникає.
Двигун реве, аж серце тане,
Резина - писк, асфальт згорає.

Кожен сигнал - то мій ритм,
Я на повному, без зайвих слів.
Крило підв'язане дротом,
Але душа моя - за кермом!

Мій ТАААЗ!
Рве, як звір, без гальм!
Я лечу - хай шепочуть там.
ТАААЗ - мій кайф, мій бит,
Асфальт димить - гума кипить!

Фари тьмяні, музло на повну,
Сусіди вже звикли до мого реву.
Сидіння рване, зате своє -
В ньому я живу, мов у кораблі.

Тут нема ні шику, ні хрому,
Та цей руль - мій штурвал по-домашньому.
Я знаю кожен скрип і шум,
Цей ТАЗ - мій друг, не просто бум.

Мій ТАААЗ!
Рве, як звір, без гальм!
Я лечу - хай шепочуть там.
ТАААЗ - мій кайф, мій бит,
Асфальт димить - гума кипить!

Світлофор - і я знову перший,
Не нова тачка, зате чесний.
На районі мене всі впізнають -
По звуку вихлопу і як шини горять.

Багажник - саб, у дверях - люфт,
Зате є душа, і в неї - пульс.
Це не просто тачка - це стиль життя,
ТААЗ - це я. Без нього - не я.

Мій ТАААЗ!
Рве, як звір, без гальм!
Я лечу - хай шепочуть там.
ТАААЗ - мій кайф, мій бит,
Асфальт димить - гума кипить!

Поки хтось мріє про іномарку,
Я в своєму - на повну марку.
ТААЗ - не просто купа металу,
Це моя дорога. І я їй не зраджу.

Mij Taz | Cyberpunk Trapwave Street Anthem (Vocoder FX, 808s, Synth-Rock Fusion)

Driving, analog, and tense. Built for the last stretch before dawn hits.

Last Exit Before Sunrise

#PureEnergy
That rush when the beat drops and suddenly everything clicks. This is a workout anthem, your Friday night starter, a below-the-kick windows-down summer drive soundtrack. I spent a couple of months trying to reimagine the best late 80s dance floor ever made meets 2020s precision BRATpop perfection aka the euphoria of wanting to dance with somebody mixed with that tingly electric feeling. It's sonic Jazzercise for the spin generation. Sweat, laugh, repeat. Can I get a little bit of oxygen? because we're pumped and need to catch our breath. Turn it up. Move your body. Let off the brakes. Feel everything for four minutes.

OXGN

fools gold

Lo-fi vapor trap with hazy 808s, Memphis grit, and nocturnal vibes inspired by underground phonk and vaporwave aesthetics.

The Devil's Spaghetti

Purple Dreamz

Spunt

BludSport

Winslowed

Vapor-trap sermons from a faded skyline. Lo-fi grit, 808 confessionals, and echoes of cities that never sleep.

Runi Tigvaldson is a Ukrainian dark folk and metal artist creating Pagan Dark Folk, ritual-inspired fantasy music, mythpunk, and heavy metal. 
His works are not just folklore, but reimagined myths and grimdark fantasy soundscapes - blending Ukrainian cultural roots, northern pagan echoes, and modern rock/metal energy. 
From ritual chants and dark folk atmospheres to cinematic rock ballads and doom metal, his art explores the borderlands of darkness and light. 
Discover more on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIP7DM9otumQvPaL4GcMEQ

Runi Tigvaldson - український артист, що творить у жанрі Pagan Dark Folk, фантазійної ритуальної музики, міфпанку та важкого металу. 
Його стиль - це не буквальний фольклор, а переосмислені міфи та grimdark fantasy-звукові світи, де українські корені переплітаються з північними язичницькими відгомонами та сучасною рок/метал енергією. 
Від ритуальних співів і темного фолку до кінематографічних рок-балад і дум-металу - це подорож крізь темряву й світло. 
Дивись більше на YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDIP7DM9otumQvPaL4GcMEQ

🌑 Pagan Dark Folk • Ritual Fantasy • Mythpunk • Heavy Metal • Cinematic Rock • Grimdark Atmosphere

R a n d o m
ðɪɠ ˜∞²ƒ¶•±  ∇ ≈ª °ℵç√ðɤʿŒŽ∆ ℰ˙µ¿ⁿŒðɤŽ⋄ƒ¤ √çðûɠı̂˜∞²±•ðûɾŊŸ˜ʘℰ˙ µ¿ⁿŒɤŽ⋄ƒ ¤∆ℰ˙µ¿ ⁿ ûŽðŸ˜Šℰ˙µ¿ ŒðɤŽ⋄ƒ¤√•ç Ŗð˜∞²±✂‰ ¶•ð ðℰ˙µ ¿ⁿŽð Ÿ˜ Š∆ℰ ˙µ¿

Shatter the Matrix is one of the projects of composer Phil Justin, mostly high octane electronica music pulling from Goa trance, psytrance, world music, metal, funk, industrial, EDM, jazz as well as a ton of cinematic and orchestral colors. No real way to describe it except influences draw all the way from Infected Mushroom, Shpongle and Juno Reactor to John Williams, Danny Elfman and Bjork. With everything in between. Always a fun ride if you like busy and colorful music. Enjoy!!!

Writer and producer based in Atlanta making country, electronic, folk, hardcore, and anything else I can get away with. Think less “genre-bending visionary,” more “attention span with a studio.”

New tracks tagged #Retro-Future