The Only Way Is Through: Twin Phase Returns with ‘One Way Out’
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
Marcus Assenmacher trades the shadows for the spotlight on a groove-driven meditation on letting go
There’s a particular kind of courage in admitting you’re stuck. Not paralysed, not broken; just standing at a crossroads where every option except one has quietly closed itself off. That’s the space Twin Phase inhabits on ‘One Way Out’, and it’s a remarkably assured place to find a project still in its early chapters.
Press photo & cover art credit: The Mattesons
Twin Phase is the solo vehicle of Detroit-based Marcus Assenmacher: songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and industry veteran who spent years shaping other people’s records before deciding it was time to make his own. The credentials are hard to argue with: collaborations with Teddy Geiger, Lauv, and Grammy-winning producer Ricky Reed, a touring career that kicked off at 17, and a stint at New York University’s Steinhardt programme that embedded him in one of the world’s most creatively dense music communities. All of that experience feeds directly into Twin Phase’s sound… polished without being sterile, personal without being indulgent.
‘One Way Out’ leans hard into the nu-disco and alternative R&B territory Twin Phase has been carving out since debut single ‘Wired The Same’. Built at SayHeySounds using Ableton Live as the backbone, the track layers programmed drums against live performances, electric guitar, bass, and synthesisers to create something that feels both meticulously constructed and genuinely alive. It’s the kind of production that rewards headphones and a decent speaker system equally.
Marcus Assenmacher has described the track as being about “the tension between holding on to what feels familiar and accepting that real growth often requires letting go” - and that emotional honesty is what keeps ‘One Way Out’ from being purely a mood piece. Underneath the groove is a song genuinely grappling with vulnerability and self-discovery, which gives it staying power beyond the first listen.
Fans of Roosevelt, Chromeo, and Lauv will find plenty to latch onto here. With a debut album on the horizon, Twin Phase looks like one of the more interesting independent projects to watch in 2026.