TROPICS

Christopher Ward operates under the Tropics moniker as a British electronic producer, composer, and vocalist. From his Los Angeles base, he merges ambient electronica with understated infusions of house, R&B, and jazz, a style evident across projects including the 2014 album Rapture and the 2018 set Nocturnal Souls.

The Tropics project surfaced in 2010 through the Soft Vision EP, issued by the U.K. independent Planet Mu Records and marking the arrival of Ward’s dreamy, warmly melancholic approach. A follow-up EP titled Mouves paved the way for his first full-length, Parodia Flare, which arrived in 2011. The record combined chillwave and electronica textures with acoustic piano and guitar songwriting, drawing favorable critical notice that opened doors to remix work for groups such as Bear in Heaven and Little Dragon.

In the ensuing period Ward’s output shifted toward greater organic textures, prompting him to form a live band for newer material after issuing several additional singles. A 2014 deal with the American independent Innovative Leisure yielded his second album, Rapture, at the start of the following year.

Relocation to Los Angeles came before his next release, which emerged as his most wide-ranging to date. Nocturnal Souls, issued in 2018, layered jazz inflections, light psychedelia, and echoes of French new wave and Italian film music onto the Tropics palette. The Petite Noir collaboration “Opioid” appeared the next year.