From the first note of Current Location, Nick Marks and his armada of collaborators pull listeners into an aural cosmos where jazz motifs greet futurism with traditionalism.
Opening Cinematic Chromatics Vol. III, the final instalment of his 3 EP trilogy, Current Location exists in a liminal space where textures shift like constellations, guiding listeners through a field of gravity formed by soul, neo-soul, and jazztronica.
Marks has spent the past two years carving his sonic universe, bridging the underground scenes where jazz, hip-hop, and electronica collide with filmic grandeur. Since its inception in 2020, Cinematic Chromatics has been heralded for its genre-blurring ingenuity, earning Marks acclaim from tastemakers and playlist placements, including Spotify’s Best of Fresh Finds Jazz 2024.
Current Location represents the fluidity of place, time, and sound, drawing from Brazilian influences, lo-fi aesthetics, and orchestral sophistication. The track’s inception came as Marks walked through Manhattan, melodies forming in response to the rhythms of the city, later fleshed out with electric bassist CARRTOONS, vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu, and pianist Benjamin Furman.
The soulful yet spacey non-lexical vocals harbour accessibility in the mix, reassuring that, despite the technical chops underpinning the track, pretension is absent. This is pure rhythmic expression, allowing listeners to traverse the same sonic pathways as its creators. The polyphonic tones heighten the groove’s ecstatic zeal, but the crescendos, reaching the epitome of seraphic euphonia, steal the spotlight.
Current Location is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast