Australian singer, songwriter and record producer Matthew Victor Kopp, otherwise known as Running Touch, first rose to prominence as the guitarist for, and founding member of, nu metal band Ocean Grove in his homeland roughly a decade ago. However, Kopp struck out on his own in the mid noughties, releasing a string of singles and an EP, A Body Slow, in the years that followed.

It was his single Juno, released earlier this year, that first brought Running Touch to this reviewer's attention. That track was a soulful fusion of pop and electronic, almost house, elements, but it retained a little feel of his roots too with some neat guitar. The song was a solid example of his lyrical ability, weaving as it did a story about a young runaway fleeing their hometown and falling in love with a thief. 

Now Running Touch is back with a new track, Ceilings, that builds on the feel of Juno to create a captivating and intense track that rises and falls beautifully, delivering a rich beat layered with some intriguing effects. Lyrically, Ceilings is just as enticing as it’s predecessors too, with Kopp revealing: “No I can’t stand the tension / No I can’t stand the weight / Something I forgot to mention / Is I don’t know if I’ll stay / I don’t know what I want / Don’t know if I should go / I just need to feel something / If I leave then will I know?”

Writing on his official Facebook page about the new release, Kopp wrote: “New music.. Finally! I wrote Ceilings at the same time as Better Together in 2018 and finished it just as I was moving out of my studio last year. A lot of the tension that both our world and we were under as humans definitely soaked into this song. Thanks for listening, it means more to artists now than ever. Can't wait to belt this one with you all. Love you.”

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.