Mike Quintor steps fully into his own headspace with TRANCE, released December 5, 2025, a genre-bending album created entirely on his own terms from San Ramon, California. Writing, producing, arranging, designing the artwork, and even handling promotion himself, Quintor turns TRANCE into a self-contained world. Influenced by the emotional openness of Kid Cudi, the creative fearlessness of Ye, the immersive haze of Travis Scott, and the psychedelic futurism of Tame Impala and Daft Punk, the album explores exhaustion, numbness, identity, and the tension between public polish and private drift. Even more striking is the fact that much of it was recorded in his car, a late-night cocoon that shaped the projectโs intimate, dreamlike atmosphere.
The album opens with โGOOD TIME,โ immediately locking listeners into Quintorโs hypnotic rhythm language. Shimmering, glimmery synths ripple and freeze against bouncing beats, creating a stop-start pulse that keeps a beat on your heart. His high, thin voice floats smoothly and soulfully through layered voices, circling memories of connection and desire. She sings, โEvery time I see you, itโs like itโs the first time,โ with a nostalgic rush, while the dance-instruction ad-libs inject movement, turning introspection into something you can sway to.
โรโ comes catchy, with soft, melancholic melodies as Quintor sings gently, reflecting on love lost and questions left unanswered. The track feels like staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m., replaying conversations youโll never have again. His vulnerability lands hardest here, letting silence and space do as much work as the lyrics themselves.
By the time โETHEREAL SKYโ arrives, TRANCE fully leans into its title. Shimmering textures float dreamily over deep bass and steady beats, while Quintor sings melancholically and sonorously, before his falsetto turns everything trance-inducing and ghostlike. As mantras blur into emotion, he captures the feeling of being โhella highโ all the while, never losing the touch of his emotions.
In the end, TRANCE documents a state of being, in its sensitive and vulnerable form. See if it aligns with yours on Spotify.
STAY IN TOUCH:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | X | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Review by: Naomi Joan