OVRLDR is a free form music collaboration with members based in the United States and Europe. Formed in 2018 by Matt Relstab, Mike Ward and Alexis Desjardins, OVRLDR emerged from the remnants of the Boston electronic pop group Let’s Wait. In a stark departure the trio strayed from structured pop songwriting, venturing towards industrial textures, organic rhythms and unorthodox production techniques. Their 2020 debut LP “Contemporary Amnesia” was a lo-fi, abstract journey through sonic palettes and expansive instrumentation with compositions based on live improvisation. Defying categorization the album saw west African rhythms clashing with cerebral ambience, eerily processed vocals balancing atop ominous grooves and acoustic instruments blended with granular synthesis.
Following the global pandemic and Desjardins’ re-location to Switzerland, OVRLDR re- emerged as a purely remote collaboration. Isolation and experimentation would become the catalysts for creation on OVRLDR’s sophomore effort. Working independently, sonic sketches were composed and then passed along for each member to add additional elements in a round-robin fashion. Divergent musical concepts and production approaches were blended to create the unexpectedly cohesive musical narrative heard on 2023’s “Memory on Repeat”.
OVRLDR’s latest endeavors include a trilogy of extended plays released over 2025 to early 2026, where each member serves as primary composer and producer for their respective release. “End Gaze” is a haunting collection of songs that embody the exhaustion, paranoia and hysteria of perpetually confronting mankind’s demise. Primarily written on the Arabic Oud and Ostrich guitar, End Gaze seeks to punch through the conventions of western music as it boldly explores a myriad of unfamiliar sounds, rhythms and textures. “Low Viz” continues with the themes of End Gaze with a sound palette shifting the balance towards the synthesized and effected acoustic instruments. The terrain shifts rapidly and unexpectedly, questioning how we find coherence and balance, accepting tension and harmony. “Subtext” explores new depths of the band’s harsher ambient landscapes
Contact: ovrldrmusic at gmail.com