Sig Sali: Chaos In My Mind
(Self Release)
Following a pair of electrifying performances at Glastonbury 2025, Bristol-based producer, songwriter, and vocalist SIG SALI steps confidently into the spotlight with the release of his debut EP Chaos In My Mind.
Showcasing some emotive, experimental and fluorescently colourful songwriting, the 6-track album feels like the culmination of a long-simmering artistic vision for Sig Sali, ultimately delivering an evocative sound that bridges the intimacy of bedroom pop with the scale of cinematic indietronica.
Both sprawling and carefully constructed, across the EP, Sig Sali (Danny Pugh) and Freddie Cowan (The Vaccines, Freddie & The Scenarios) balance glitching electronics with vocoder-drenched vocals, sweeping guitar lines, and rhythmic synth led pulses that nods to hyper-pop as much as it does to early 00’s indie-pop.
From the opener ‘Loves Elixir’ the twinkling synths, pulsing electronic bass and heartfelt, auto-tune drenched vocals quickly set the tone. As the track progresses, the stylistic, quirky guitar work soon enters hinting at the flurry of cross genre musicality which stylises the rest of the EP’s sound design. A stripped and spacious intro, ‘Loves Elixir’ grows to a cinematic climax as fuzzy, boxy guitar tones and bright synths collide, creating a track which holds a sense of drive and direction despite only relying on a kick beat to pull the track forwards.
‘Sleen’ quickly changes things, opening with a tight, punching electronic drum beat before introducing the wobbling, modulation soaked main riff. Growing through its 80s rock influenced verse, the track reaches a cinematic chorus before closing in a stylistic wall of overlapping instrumentation and ending on a final flourish of synth.
Elsewhere on the EP, ‘Lost In The Night’ contrasts a tight offbeat drum beat with melodic indie toplines and glitching re-sampling, while the EPs highlight ‘Bad Man Horror’ offers the most cohesive example of Sig Sali’s work. Shifting through elegantly thought out melodies at its opening, showcasing a brilliant melodic development as the track develops from its spacious opening into an unpredictable key change, eventually reaching a sprawling 80s influenced soundscape later into the track.
Thematically, the EP is a mirror to the chaos and duality within the artist’s mind. The music is frenetic and layered whilst the vocals move through their heavy effects loop like you’re journeying through SIG SALI’s mind. Danny describes the project as: “Exactly what it sounds like — a swirl of obsession, anxiety, love, and confusion all fighting for space inside my head. It’s like stepping into someone else’s messy world, caught somewhere between real life and the wild, twisted stories they tell themselves. So this EP isn’t purely about me, but about fragments of things I’ve seen, felt, or imagined over time. There’s reckless love, nights that spiral out of control, moments of raw vulnerability, and impulses that hit without warning. It’s dark, impulsive, and far from neat… it’s alive.”
Across its runtime, Chaos In My Mind maintains a dreamlike narrative quality, as if listeners are stepping into a hazy, neon-lit world built by SIG SALI’s alter ego. Each track offers a new angle: some cinematic, some introspective, some carry a beguiling sense of uneasiness while other moments bring a frantic late-night energy. What ties them together is the artist’s willingness to be sonically adventurous while maintaining lyrical sharpness. This is a debut that doesn’t try to fit into boxes, it’s deliberately challenging but ultimately it is uniquely resonant and highlights a sense of unbridled potential.
Follow Sig Sali
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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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