March 11, 2022
If you’re are looking for some indie, “Bedroom Pop” music to add to your playlist, be sure to check out this week’s Mezz Music Mondays Feature, Function Space, with their song “Should’ve”. Reminiscent of artists like Rex Orange County or Still Woozy, “Should’ve” is an upbeat pop ballad with some jazzy influences, perfect for your driving playlist.
Function Space, headed by singer/songwriter Emilio, represents an array of musical styles and blends. Before performing and releasing music under the name “Function Space” in late 2017, Emilio has shifted between many different genres from Pop to, Punk, to even EDM. After changing his name to Function Space, he felt that with the new name he could, “Finally created a sound that fit [his] musical identity and really grow with.” Even after settling on the new name, Function Space’s music continues to defy and merge genres. Originally, he made Synth-pop songs that were more heavily produced, including his first album in 2018, Origins.
In early 2019, he experimented with the Bedroom Pop genre and released the song, “Losing U”. The new song warranted an overwhelming response from friends and fans. As Emilio puts it, “It felt so different from the first few songs that I almost considered changing my name,” but decided against the idea, saying that Function Space was a name that he felt he could evolve with.
With the success of “Losing U”, Function Space also released similar songs, including, “Maybe”, “Pause”, and “Should’ve”, with each song, “Increasing the complexity of the harmonies, adding more R&B/jazz influences, and adding more instruments”. All of these songs appear on his 2020 project, 222, that premiered last February.
This week’s playlist song, “Should’ve”, follows a variation of the classic 2-5-1 chord progression, as many pop songs do. After that, everything else simply fell into place. Emilio says, “The lyrics are somewhat based on personal experience, drawing from a feeling where you regret not speaking your mind when you had the chance.” Complied with his own personal anecdote, the chorus of the song draws some influence from, “Right Back Where We Started From” by Maxine Nightingale. Different from his other tracks, “Should’ve”, takes on a new level of complexity with harmonies and vocal overlays, especially at the end of the song. He also experiments with a new snare pattern in the chorus, really uplifting the melody and the feel of the song.
Function Space is one of the many talented artists that we interacted with on our Tiktok account. The Function Space social media accounts are stacked with covers, live performances, and even fun musical challenges like building a song in one minute. To hear more from Function Space, be sure to follow them on Instagram! If you want a chance to be featured as our Mezz Music Mondays Artist, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Tiktok and submit to our playlist here! Check out this week’s Mezz Music Mondays playlist to hear more great music from artists like Function Space!