Browsing Tag

chill

Dozy Boi – Reality: Absorbingly Exotic Jazz-Soaked Chill Hop

Posted on 22 June 2020

UK-based Up and coming Hip Hop artist and producer Dozy Boi has recently dropped their sublimely cathartic Chill Hop album “Here”, you might want to prepare your Lo-Fi Chill Hop playlists right about now.

While each single carries an arsenal of ambience, the best introduction to Dozy Boi’s tension-stripping approach to production is the standout single “Reality”.

The only interruption to the soft mellifluous Jazz-soaked beats is a vocal sample which implores you to question your perception of reality. Ordinarily, that would drive me into an existential crisis, but thanks to the absorbingly exotic textures found in Reality, it’s all too easy to succumb to the smooth and comforting vibes.

You can check out Reality along with the rest of Dozy Boi’s debut album which dropped in May 2020 for yourselves by heading over to Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

YAN x TIM FLAIR – MOB VILLAIN: Ambiently Arrestive Hip Hop

Posted on 21 June 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssf06xX3G5E

American Rapper Yan teamed up with Dutch producer Tim Flair to drop the hazy, dreamy, lyrically ingenious feat of Hip Hop “MOB VILLAIN”.

With subtle nuances of Jazz weaving around the ambiently arrestive Trap beats, MOB VILLAIN organically drips catharsis. And through YAN’s Rap bars, you’ll get to soak up all the soul which was thrown into the melodically blissful mix.

You can check out YAN x TIM FLAIR’s track MOB VILLAIN for yourselves by heading over to YouTube. Your vibe-out playlists will definitely thank you for it.

If it’s your bag, give their channel a follow. MOB VILLAIN is the debut single to be released from YAN x TIM FLAIR’s collaborative EP “Late Nites & Summer Days” which has been produced to freshen up your Summer Hip Hop playlists.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

U.V.P – Spread Your Wings featuring LiBa: Entrancingly Progressive Leftfield Electronica

Posted on 14 June 2020
https://uvpmusic.bandcamp.com/track/spread-your-wings-feat-liba

Bristol, UK-based Electronica artist and producer U.V.P dropped their latest track Spread Your Wings in collaboration with LiBa on June 12th.

The seductively structured feat of artfully downbeat electronica may be slow to start, but the extended mix carries an arsenal of progressive innovation. After building up to an entrancingly danceable sun-soaked soundscape, Spread Your Wings guides you through a myriad of progressions, each is as adrenalizing as the last.

LiBa’s distinctive and almost genre-less vocals found perfect synergy with U.V.P’s deftly crafted beats and allowed collaborative chemistry to drip from Spread Your Wings.

We may not be celebrating summer dance hits in the usual way this year, but whatever mood the Leftfield earworm catches you in, it will definitely be sweeter by the time you get to the outro.

You can stream and purchase U.V.P’s track Spread Your Wings via Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

London’s Will James reminds us of real values with bluesy classic ‘’Bo James’’

Posted on 9 June 2020
https://soundcloud.com/willjamesch/bo-james/s-T6B4igR2y1b

I do what I love, I don’t need to sell my soul. Ah yes Will, you are absolutely right. In a crazy world, full of fakeness all over, this is the kind of music that is so good for the soul. It’s authentic, has elements of Jazz, Blues and all that good stuff.

I can imagine going to watch Will at a small, basement club, full of real music fans. This is the kind of place that warms my heart. Will’s voice is strong, he holds his tone well and man, this guy can write.

London native ‘Will James’ would be a treat to watch live I’m sure. He is a part of the street musicians in the City, playing as much as possible and inspiring those locals and tourists that bother to listen to good music. This is a true solo artist and one that I hope gains much love worldwide. Will & Bo James have soul and that is rare.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Twin Souls ‘Water Into Wine’ show their maturity with fab single ‘’Soul On Fire’’.

Posted on 31 May 2020

Pop/House/Trap/Chill/Rock ‘Water Into Wine’ are based in New York City, USA. They are two creatives and they are very honest on what they say. You will either love or hate this music. They won’t mind either, they just want to perform live.

‘Water Into Wine’ is a pop duo that officially formed in the summer of 2019 when Slovak singer/actress/model Barbra Zi started to collaborate on music that Darryl George had written 4-5 years prior. This lit the fuse for them to begin writing music together. Currently, they have upwards of 50 songs that they are fine-tuning for future releases. Beyond that, the plan is to continue to write and record as much as they can and begin a string of shows in late 2020/ early 2021, depending on lockdown of course. 

“Since beginning Water Into Wine, Barbra and I have been such an inspiration to each other. Our synergy acts as a constant source of motivation to write, perform, and produce more music.”

Darryl performs all instrumentation and acts as recording, mixing, and mastering engineer on all tracks. Barbra directs/edits/produces all video releases and co-produces too.

This is a power duo, as you can see and let’s see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

Click here to hear more on their SoundCloud page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Under the homonymous album, Chuck extracts his latest single Smwtd

Posted on 27 May 2020

Under the homonymous album, Chuck extracts his latest single Smwtd, an acronym I had to go research myself on Urban Dictionary to better understand this chillout tune. If you too don’t know what that means, do look it up for yourself – it’s a fun one!

It feels like you’re entering a classy lounge bar somewhere in downtown Santa Monica where rows of expensive cocktails are presented to patrons, and Smwtd emerges from the background invading the whole space to the point of covering voices and laughs, and drawing so much attention that people won’t wait a second longer before letting themselves swing to the music.

The rhythm alternations made of slow beats and loops that weigh in and out with their harmonic movement builds up a cosy vibe that’s all about fluctuations of mellow piano and guitar sounds.

Chuck maintains the same depth in all other tracks of the album (see Yellow – that’s another one I really dig) but you can start by listening to Smwtd on Spotify.

Review by Jim Esposito.

Jaayns – Stars (Stripped Back): Deepen your experience

Posted on 13 May 2020

Moderate piano chords and what to me shines like a very natural reverb are only some of the features that characterise Jaayns’ new single Stars (Stripped Back).

A piano and voice ballad nuancedly shaped in Chill music and with a light drop of Folk style, Stars (Stripped Back) persuades for its pureness of sound and silky smooth melody, producing that kind of atmosphere that necessitates candle lighting to deepen the experience. You’d likely be laying on a bean bag while appreciating Jaayns playing live, who would provide an undoubtedly relaxing show.

The lyrics unfold a beautiful metaphor about people being stars who hide instead of shine, almost as if disguising their inner beauty giving in to the negatives, without realizing that “what we are is burning” probably way more quickly than we think.

The track’s song-writing style is definitely unique, somehow even alternative, and brings the listener to want to explore a deeper level of interpretation.

You can listen to Stars (Stripped Back) for yourself on Soundcloud.

Review by Jim Esposito.

Elin Bellander – Distant: An incredibly ambiguous yet meaningful pop hit

Posted on 4 March 2020

Pop mixed with elements of R&B is what the new single ‘’Distant’’ by Swedish artist Elin Bellander offers.

Throughout it’s up-beat, infectious and super catchy, it’s one of them that will be stuck in your head, but in a good way. Elin’s vocal range is insane, she has a voice that is so mesmerising to listen too, it’s unique and as the beat begins to pick up pace, the vocal range begins to hit the high notes spot on and it’s definitely impressive.

Pop music is known for being something that can boost your mood, letting the beat move you and having this connection with the lyrics. Distant gives it’s listeners that Pop feeling we all know and love. The lyrical approach reflects a past experience with a relationship, which is a  topic that many listeners would relate too and it screams girl power.

Every part from the instrumentals, the vocals and the overall sound is well thought out and it goes hand and hand with one another, it’s creative and one that needs to be listened too.

The up and coming artist has created a short track that shows huge potential for the future and we can’t wait to see what Elin Bellander is going to do next.

Check out Elin Bellander’s new single on soundcloud now!

Review by Karley Myall

Yahn – Coming Home: Shimmering Spacey Synthwave Pop

Posted on 6 January 2020

Up and coming artist and producer Yahn ended 2019 by dropping their fourth single “Coming Home”. In doing so they gave us one more reason to get excited about their analogue approach to catharsis.

Expect shimmering, spacey Synthwave which flirts with elements of futurism. But the true essence of the single lies in the nostalgia of those 80s inspired soaring synth notes which carve out quintessentially captivating melodies.

Coming Home may be an instrumental score, but there’s no discernible lack of emotion or feeling thanks to the veracity of the effervescent energy which pours from the soundscape.

You can check out Yahn’s latest single Coming Home for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bianca Bazin – ‘White Water’

Posted on 23 December 2019

London-based singer-songwriter Bianca Bazin has poured her heart and soul into ‘White Water’. The track is about overcoming personal battles and persevering in the face of adversity.

Bazin previously made folk music. She states that “due to the desire to explore new sounds and ideas, I wanted to make music which would be more uplifting”. This shift from folk to pop has clearly been the product of a lot of soul-searching, and ‘White Water’ is a sure example of how Bazin is not afraid to explore her musical capabilities and push the boat out. She digs deep in this track, and wears her heart on her sleeve. For this reason, she comes across as unapologetic in her choices, but the song still displays a sense of vulnerability which makes it all the more cathartic.

The best songs are the ones that come from the heart, which is why ‘White Water’ is one of Bazin’s best yet. Influenced by the likes of Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa and Florence & The Machine, Bazin borrows her sense of security and shamelessness in her art from these fellow strong females. But her velvety vocal is completely her own.

Her emotions are laid bare in ‘White Water’, and its polished production allows Bazin’s pure, soaring vocal to shine brilliantly. At 2 minutes 29 seconds, the cascading instrumentals elevate the song even further. In triumphant upwards ascension, Bazin’s creation stands strong.

A unique, contemporary artist, Bazin shows the power of vulnerability with this exquisite offering, ‘White Water’.

Review By Alicia Carpenter