When an artist swaps stage names, it usually comes with a heavy dose of PR spin—a clean break to shift the narrative or chase a fresh angle. But when Adelaide artist Ridgy decided to start releasing under ~, it felt less like a strategic rebrand and more like a simple change in perspective. In mathematics, a tilde stands for “approximately.” It points to something fluid and incomplete, which hits right at the core of his latest project, Eyes to See and Ears to Hear. ~ isn’t trying to sell a finished image or preach from a pedestal; he’s documenting where he’s at.
If you’ve tracked his releases over the last few years—or caught his work alongside underground heads like MAVI, Camden Malik, and the Hidden Renaissance crew—you already know sound has always been his primary way of processing things. But this record feels even more grounded. Built on warm, dust-caked sampling, steady atmospheric grooves, and thoughtful, spiritual themes, it digs into what it actually feels like to navigate doubt, set boundaries, and keep moving forward.
The opening track, “The road I go,” sets that tone naturally. Reverb-heavy sample loops float over a deep bassline while ~ settles into an unhurried, hypnotic flow. It doesn’t try to grab you by the collar; it just lays out the environment and lets you sit with it.
That mix of raw texture and reflection keeps the album steady throughout. On “I’ll get to where I’m going” (featuring KAYEMJAE), punchy, unvarnished drums clash with warm gospel chords, framing resilience not as a dramatic victory, but as an everyday choice. Wakai drops in on “Techniques,” bringing a looser, bouncy dynamic that gives the album a brief moment to stretch out and show off some sharp, easygoing rap back-and-forth.
Where the record really leaves an impression, though, is in its quieter stretches:
“A walk in my mind” pairs glitchy, off-kilter percussion with dreamlike keys, opening up a window into a distinct, private headspace.
“We’ll make it out again” slows the pace down to a crawl, wrestling with internal tension without letting the mood sink into hopelessness.
“Jacob’s ladder” (with austin fox) takes its time building, letting soulful elements pile up naturally until the emotional payoff lands without feeling forced.
By the time the hazy sampling of “Love’s silent dawn” transitions into the final track, “Brand new day,” the weight lifts. Set over a clean, ambient soundscape, ~ delivers his most straightforward, unpolished lyrics on the whole project. It doesn’t try to neat-pack everything with a perfect resolution. Instead, it captures that quiet relief of making it through a heavy stretch and realizing there’s still plenty of road left ahead.
Eyes to See and Ears to Hear isn’t in a hurry to impress anyone, and it doesn’t offer quick answers. It’s just a thoughtful, well-crafted snapshot of an artist paying attention to his surroundings, making sense of how he got there, and finding solid reasons to keep going.
Listen to Eyes to See and Ears to Hear here:
