Review 5

KWABS - WRIGHT OR WRONG

WARNER MUSIC UK 2014
BY OSCAR NICHOLAS


The latest EP, Wrong Or Right, from digital blues artist Kwabena Adjepong aka Kwabs, is one of the most soulful pieces of music to be released this year. Tracks glide in a retro, futuristic style through the combination of Kwabs timeless vocals mixed with modern production. An otherworldly counterbalance is created. The sound is clean and solid. Although his music holds resemblance to artists like James Blake, it still has its own unique quality.

Before Wright Or Wrong the London based singer showed off his raw talent through several simplistic performances on YouTube. Influences from gospel and R&B are clearly present in his style. Kwabs latest EP however -under the warped construction of London artist and producer SOHN - is a different dimension of soulful bliss.

Opening track Wrong Or Right is emotive and characterful. It has a chilled backbone of an arpeggiated synthesiser that hides under Kwabs smooth voice. I don't want to be your leader, I don't want to let you down, are the cold lyrics that greet you. The poetic side of blues is present regardless of the computer based beats. As the song builds it feels more like a journey than a fight. It peaks with soulful, vocal outbursts.

Second track Last Stand has more power. Far from chirpy, the sound creates tension. Warped rhythm and transcending bass run throughout and raise the reverbed vocals. Last Stand is the peak of the EP, it has that edge from a tune to banger. As Kwabs' lyrics layer over and he sings still burning from the heat of your touch it becomes something special and mystic. Defiantly a track to watch this year.

The EP has a more chilled vibe once you reach the third track Spirit Fade. The sound is a combination of analogue arcade and unique vocals.

As a finale opening track Wright Or Wrong is jacked up with a house remix by producer Ben Pearce. Almost doubled in length from the original, the 6 minute remix compliments the EP. The track has a Disclosure/Bondax feel. It is a unusual farewell to a hopeful artists first impression.

Rating: 7

Review 4

CRIM3S - STAY UGLY

UNSIGNED 2013

BY OSCAR NICHOLAS

Its such a shame when incredible sound and talent slips so far under the radar. The understated EP of 2013 has no doubt come from Crim3s. The twisted and dirty poundings from their second EP Stay Ugly deserves more recognition, in this writers opinion, than most big artists have received over last 12 months. Crim3s is formed of alternative model Sadie Pinn on vocals and her partner Rou Rot producing the tracks. The duo create witch-house/crank-wave masterpieces, with a unique Crystal Castles texture.

From the start Stay Ugly hits you full capacity. Warped layers of distorted bass and synths sit below Pinn's howls and screams. Opening track Lost is disgustingly gorgeous. The vocals are dissected and smothered in reverb over the crazy back beat. If you listened to it on drugs I imagine it would be terrifying.

Although hectic and intense Crim3s have an overlooked subtlety. The second track of Stay Ugly, Pansy  is full of sorrow and pain. I'm sick of this Pity, Mark my hate, are some of the emotive lyrics featured. And throughout the EP feelings are spilled over the almost trance like music. In Dose Pinn's vocals come out as cries, nothings here and nothings clear.

Stay Ugly is a follow up to the duo's self titled debut EP. The deathly, 8bit, devil arcade style of Crim3s is smoother than before. However they are yet to produce anything would be out of place in an sweaty, body filled, underground rave.

The closing track Stress, has a playful start and almost feels bouncy. It whirls back and forth to a build of bass and samples. After the pounding and faded screams of the word suffocate, silence may seem uncomfortable.

It may be that as a huge Crystal Castles fan, anything that holds its own in the genre I feel deserves recognition. Stay Ugly has the sincerity that the Alice and Ethan format needs to be triumphant. Its not easy being dirty and provoking but this EP feels right even if I can't pinpoint it.

Rating: 9

Review 3

EYEDRESS - SUPERNATURAL 

XL Records 2013
By Oscar Nicholas

If there is one artist who deserves recognition right now, it's Filipino laptop producer Idris Vicuña aka Eyedress. His debut EP Supernatural was released on XL Records and it is not a to be taken lightly.

His music is haunting. The tracks are twisted, echoed and beautifully nightmarish Fruity Loop productions. Supernatural opens with Vicuña's power track Nature Trips. It is eery to say the least. Every repeat builds you to the same place of bliss. The synths are euphoric and the vocals glide with the music. A simple bass line runs through the track, with tip-towing synths and drum effects scattered along the way. The lyrics and gentle cry of the vocals create the tension and an addiction to the repeat button. Sung by himself, it was originally thought that the vocals were from a collaboration with female artist Skint Eastwood. Lyrics such as I’ve been doing drugs cos I don’t give a fuck, peak the track and show you Eyedress's defiant side.

The ethereal bedroom beats Eyedress presents on Supernatural border on chillwave, but darker. Biolumine and Tokyo Ghost have a relaxed touch, synths and soft vocals give an element of innocence compared to other tracks. Lyrics in Tokyo Ghost show tenderness and pain, if there's someone else I don't want to know. The track is a modern, futuristic love song frankly.

We are left with the sour, mean No Competition. It is the only instrumental on the EP and shows what Eyedress can do with a secondhand laptop in his bedroom. The dirty, distorted synths sound frantically all powerful. Inspirations from hip hop are present as it smashes bass through the speakers. It would not sound out of place in a horror movie. A frightening end to an epic introduction of what I hope to be a future underground light.

Rating: 8

Review 2

FKA TWIGS - EP2

Young Turks 2013

By Oscar Nicholas

What will be the sound of 2014? The trip hop beats and soulful vocals created within FKA Twigs latest production EP2 might be part of it. Although the name is dull and unimaginative the music speaks for itself.

The FKA, standing for: formally known as, was an addition after another artist of the same name complained. The make do nature of her tittle however does not reflect the character of the lady.

EP2 is not a regular, even comfortable sound. It is a lo-fi at its most complicated. The trippy beats have come from producer Arca, whose recent work includes collaborations with Kanye West on Yeezus. The music is disjointed and comes from every direction. Crossed with FKA Twig's dark lyrics the EP is a provoking production. The manner in which the music builds is unexpected, clicks and smashes drowned in reverb ever present. It is unique and layered.

Her lyrics feel as if they have come from the deepest parts of her being. The breakthrough track Water Me, sings 'He wont make love to me now, not now I've set the fee'. The meanings of her lyrics are often about the cold side of relationships, physically and mentally. Twigs is in her mid twenties, yet she sings as though she has been tormented for years beyond.

The chunks of noise, swells of bass and howling echoes that construct the music lay under her voice. As you listen she is ever present, she is singing next to you and you can feel her. The track Papi Pacify lets her voice resinate in. Even with the fragmented samples that construct the songs peak, she still is the main source of power.

EP2 is sharper than her previous productions. Its is more serious and chilling than Breath, her first four part EP. She sounds developed and mature in comparison to Weak Spot, her first single.

The four track EP is finished with Ultraviolet, a song that sounds like its from a urban dystopia. 'Hold my hand in error' is sung by FKA Twigs. The track is left on spirals of echoes, until it blends into silence and leaves you....

Rating: 8