Singles Spotlight: March 2023 - &seb, Keyfauver, P.H.0, RED_E¥E, aonhe

Spring break brought lots of great new music from across the MTech program.

Written by Ash & Reggie Katz in collaboration

Hi all and welcome back to Singles Spotlight! I hope you all have been weathering midterms well, and that you had a restful spring break (I could have used another week myself, but oh well). In any case, our community is at least slightly more well-rested than the norm, and we've got a really high-caliber batch of singles this month to look at as a result! As always, make sure to stream all of these artists' songs via the links we've provided below, and I will see you all further down the page!

 

&seb - Colorblind

Reviewed by Ash

 

Stream "Colorblind" by visiting &seb's Linktree! Also, don't forget to check out the track's associated (AI generated!!) music video on YouTube. 

 

Lots of you have probably already met Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky already; as one of the ever-helpful studio monitors on the eighth floor, he's had plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with those of us in MTech. Sebastian released "Colorblind" at the tail end of last month, under his artist moniker &seb. I was a newcomer to the world of Sebastian's music—having known him solely as a studio monitor and not as an artist, I was excited to see what sort of thing he'd put out. Sometimes, when someone I know, but whose music I'm unfamiliar with, releases something new, I like to make a game out of trying to guess what genre it's going to fall into based on the person's personality; of course, I'm usually wrong, but I feel like it validates my people-reading skills on the rare occasion when I manage to make a somewhat decent guess! For what little it's worth, I'd guessed that the music of &seb would fall somewhere in alternative R&B territory, like a cross between Joji & Giveon. If any of you have already listened to "Colorblind", you already know I was completely wrong; instead, the song takes a lot of cues from modern disco-pop that embraces a certain brand of retro nostalgia, and ends up feeling more like Ellie Goulding crossed with Prince than it does Joji and Giveon. "Colorblind" is catchy and funky, and showcases an impressive level of polish that definitely helped it to stick in my mind over these past few weeks; go listen to it, and I'm sure it'll stick just as firmly in yours as well!

"I initially wrote ['Colorblind'] for a gig I had at the Mercury Lounge back in July 2022—my band's set was one song too short, so I needed to add one more original. I only had two weeks before the gig, so I wrote it in two nights, the fastest I've ever written a song." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

 

"Colorblind" opens on a summery, peppy disco-flavored guitar riff over a shimmery soundscape of warped guitars and upbeat synth lines. Sebastian's vocals inhabit a low bass register that lends the whole song a distinctly mellow feeling that synergizes nicely with the funky pop presentation of the whole shebang; where a typical retro-pop disco revivalist affair like this might employ a tenor vocalist for some soaring falsetto passages and high belted lines, Sebastian's tender bass vocals make for a nice subversion of the usual vocal qualities typically associated with this genre of music. The prechorus brings some funky guitar chords interwoven with tasteful, muted synthesizer stabs that play off of each other in creating a rhythmically complex groove that carries plenty of soul. I found myself really taken with the synthesizer work in this track; all of the synth sounds used here are pretty subtle, and I had to start really listening for them specifically in order to figure out what they were doing, but they nonetheless make for a restrained, yet charming addition that does a lot to elevate the track's sense of scale beyond that of just drums, guitar, and bass. The chorus is announced by the arrival of some really nice octave-doubled backing vocals from Sebastian as he delivers a syncopated, descending hook over sidechained guitars that pulse in sync with the kick. The hook is definitely pretty simple, but I think that's part of the reason it lodged itself in my head so readily while I was writing this review; even on first listen, it was quite firmly stuck in my head, which I guess just serves to showcase Sebastian's understanding of the fact that sometimes, less is more—which applies to melodies just as much as other things!

 

"…I really liked the song so I came back to it in November. I re-recorded all of the vocals, rewrote a couple of lyrics, got my sister to make the art (@_natashawho), had my roommate Cascina add guitars to the chorus (@cascinacaradonna), commissioned my friend Freddy to record a bassline (@_knaptime), and finally sent it out to mastering with Bill Hare (the mastering engineer for Pentatonix!)." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

The second verse strips things down a little, as most of the other established elements save for Sebastian's lead vocal and the electric bass take a step back. It was at this point, with the bass front and center for the first time, that I took notice of how nice this bass tone is. It's got a lot of high-mid grittiness to it, which helps it cut through the mix just right, but it doesn't sacrifice that solid, rounded low end either. I'd be remiss if I failed to point out that Freddy also went absolutely crazy on the bass; there's all sorts of cool little trills and rhythmic switchups that listening to it never makes me feel like I'm listening to the same few seconds of bass audio looped over and over again. However, Sebastian's vocals also occupy the spotlight here, and it was at this point that I started to wish for a tad less processing on that front. His vocal chain results in a hyper-polished sort of sound that ended up feeling a bit robotic, at least to me; I feel like part of disco's appeal has to do with its free-spirited expression of human joy & exultation, and while "Colorblind" is certainly a more modern song that is more regimented and less wild than the bell-bottomed dance music of the late 1970s disco era, I still felt that it could have used a more organic vocal performance with a greater degree of expressiveness, or perhaps a vocal chain that let the moments of expression that are already there shine through a little bit more. Even so, the hook remains as catchy as ever here, and is sure to get stuck in plenty of heads before the song finishes up! After the second chorus, we break into a bridge section that sees Sebastian repeat a looping vocal refrain over the drum pattern stripped down to its basic four-on-the-floor kick and snare as some distant handclaps and synth lines make momentary visits at different points in the stereo field. On first listen, I found myself wishing for a more substantive bridge that did more things aside from repeating the same vocal line, but it mostly ceased to bother me on repeated listens; it does its job well enough, and the outward explosion of sound into the track's bombastic final chorus is still immensely rewarding as is. The song ends with a reverbed clap and residual synth whine left over from the preceding chorus that gently fades out until we're left with silence.

"Ever since I wrote ['Colorblind'], I knew I wanted to make some sort of animated music video. I used AI to make the entire thing using Stable Diffusion… which generates images based on the text that you give it. Using the Python code… I could generate thousands of images to make a full video." –Sebastian Brunner-Stolovitzky a.k.a. &seb

"Colorblind" made an impression on me basically immediately once I'd finished listening to it; even amongst the very high standards set by all of the supremely talented folks in our program, it's typically a bit of a struggle to find something that feels as polished and radio-ready as "Colorblind" does. The immediate vibe I got from the song was that I could hear it on the radio, sandwiched between Dua Lipa and Justin Timberlake, without batting an eye. I think that speaks to the artistic prowess displayed on the mixing and mastering front as well as the production side of things; this master is loud, in the way that lots of Top 40 songs are loud, and forces my senses to give it my full attention without getting too overwhelming. The mix is super polished and affords everything lots of clarity while also maintaining a solid feel for the big picture and overall balance. Sebastian absolutely establishes himself as a vocalist and songwriter here as well, and he matches the level of industry-standard polish set by the mix and master in every respect.

 

However, in spite of all the myriad strengths of "Colorblind", at the end of it, I still found myself wishing that the song had embraced a less polished presentation. As it stands, "Colorblind" is professional-sounding and carries a definitively catchy tune, but I actually found myself being drawn quite a bit more strongly to Sebastian's debut, the 2020 single "New Blood". "New Blood" embraces a lilting, druggy ambience propelled by 12/8 downtempo drums, chill fingerstyle guitars, and a truly stunning vocal performance from Sebastian that sees his deep, sonorous bass timbre utilized to its fullest; the song also helped me feel somewhat vindicated in my initial guess of a Joji/Giveon sort of sound! Don't get me wrong—the two songs are completely different, and the scintillating darkness of "New Blood" stands so at odds with the peppy cheeriness of "Colorblind" that it teeters on becoming an apples-to-oranges sort of situation. Nevertheless, I felt like I learned a lot more about Sebastian as an artist from the cloying, encroaching twilight of "New Blood" than I did from "Colorblind"'s ray-of-sunshine presentation. I suppose that's the cost of making something that sounds so Top 40 radio-ready—listening to "Colorblind", Sebastian almost feels like he's one of those untouchable pop megastars that live at the top of the charts, so far away they almost cease to feel like real people. If that's what he's aiming for, then this newest &seb single is a definite job well done, but in any case, it leaves me waiting to see whether the next song he puts out takes him even higher out of reach—or brings him back to earth.

Keyfauver - Knock

Reviewed by Ash

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Knock" via Keyfauver's Linktree!

 

During my time in MTech, I've become more and more cognizant of something which I'm starting to suspect is a universal experience in our community: namely that of crossing paths with someone on the eighth floor over and over again, enough to recognize them by appearance, but somehow never actually speaking to them! Prior to the start of this semester, when we ended up in class together, Greta Olsen, also known by her artist name, Keyfauver, was one of those people for me; I'd somehow seen her around all the time, but I don't think I'd spoken to her more than once or twice until now. Little anecdote aside, Keyfauver's debut single released early this month, and I was really excited to get a chance to properly review this one. Reviewing debut projects is always really exciting for me, since it represents our first chance to dive into the sound of an artist who's only just opened the proverbial gateway to their universe. In this respect, Keyfauver's "Knock" made one hell of an impression as a debut, blasting out of the gates with a haunting presentation of pandemic-era darkness that I hope heralds the arrival of a really exciting artist amongst our community.

"I wrote 'Knock' in May of 2020 during the height of the pandemic when I was super depressed and was just drowning myself in music and doing everything I could to stay afloat… I remember keeping my windows open as much as I could during that first pandemic spring to keep myself from feeling so suffocated, which is where that line 'as the cool May breeze runs through' comes from. I also just really liked using the metaphor of depression knocking on a window, because for me whenever I get into a depressed state I can almost see it coming on first, as if I'm seeing it blow through my window before it sets in fully." –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

Equal parts The Cure and The Black Keys, "Knock" embraces a stark, scintillating ambience that conveys an enveloping sense of existential dread. The track opens on an ominous, reverb-heavy swung piano riff alongside wintry, distant vocals that also showcase some subtle doubling an octave down. The piano caught my ear right away; I'm not sure if it's a live acoustic piano or a sample or even some really well-done MIDI, but I love the timbre Greta managed to achieve here, and there are some really cool accented notes panned off to each side that lend the piano part a distinctive, wide, ping-pong sort of sound. We sit in this space for a little while, and it's not until a full thirty seconds in that we come to a bit of a stopping point on a big half cadence before the first verse enters. Greta's voice comes to the center here, bringing a nicely-textured vocal performance that embraces a sort of striking vulnerability in its presentation. For some reason, Greta's lead vocal performance really reminded me of Adele; although Greta definitely showcases a certain rough-around-the-edges quality that contrasts with Adele's meticulously composed, poised presentation, she manages a similar brand of soulful openness that for me helps solidify "Knock" as a thoroughly earnest expression of her feelings, human flaws and all. Some subtle washes of guitar also enter at this point, flickering in and out of focus behind layers upon layers of reverb. The re-entrance of the "there's a knock at my window" hook later on is heralded by the arrival of a massively dark sub bass and some subtle, reverbed synth notes in the left ear. The soundscape maintains a gradual build for much of the track's first act, resulting in a slow, inexorable upswelling of bleakness that parallels the song's themes of depression and overwhelming sadness; the result is thoroughly hair-raising and unsettling, but also truly catchy and striking, which I feel only speaks to the strength of Greta's artistic vision, as well as the decisive and skillful rendering of that vision which she managed here.

"One of my favorite bands growing up has always been The Cure because of my parents… they're my mom's favorite band and they were actually my first concert. They've always been a really big comfort band for me, so during this period of depression I listened to their stuff really heavily, specifically the albums Faith and Disintegration. As a result, a lot of the music I wrote in that period is very much inspired by The Cure, which I think is really evident in the guitar tone I went with and the heavily reverbed snare… the drums I used were very inspired by 'Fascination Street', a track off of Disintegration." –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

The second verse brings some more haunting vocal passages from Greta, this time accompanied with some backing vocal layers that create some really nice harmony. In spite of the gradually-expanding soundscape, Greta's vocals never lose their sort of apathetic bent, which I thought was really important in terms of cultivating the track's vibe of existential dread. Even the harmonies manage to sound unlike a group of supporting voices the way most backing vocals do, and instead create a sensation as if they're pushing down on the listener, just another part of the oppressive soundscape weighing down one's mental state; it's like the internal voice that endlessly spouts depressive intrusive thoughts and never seems to go away. I think it might be Greta's choice of reverb and delay that helps to create that feeling here, where the whispered echoes of backing vocals coalesce into a massive wall of sounds that crash together all at once; I remained consistently wowed by the clear intentionality and strength behind Greta's creative choices in the production and mixing stages of this track, and the resulting vibe is incredibly vivid as a result. I did, however, feel like I started to lose the groove a little somewhere in this second verse. The track's intro and opening verses gave me the impression of a very 12/8, swung sort of feel, but by this point, some of the eighth notes start coming out a little more straight and 4/4-esque, and I found myself a little disoriented on first listen as I tried to figure out where the pulse of the track was. The crashing entrance of the drums that takes us into the next hook solidifies the impression of common time, and the pulse of the track once again becomes clear. The drums bring a lot of reverb, resulting in a surplus of thick low end frequency content that results in a slightly overwhelming listening experience, but considering the song's subject matter of being stuck in a declining metal state, the more I thought about it, the more appropriate I thought it was. In any case, we also get some heavily-reverbed guitar licks and little pizzicato string touches surfacing from the sea of guitar/drum reverb, which added some nice little ornaments in the background. Greta's vocals exit after this last hook, and are replaced by some crazy lead guitar passages that break out into ominous two-part harmony as the drums slowly fade out and the track ends.

"I just wanna give a shoutout to my family for being super supportive and excited about my music every step of the way, and for always pushing me to make what I want and express myself. Another huge shoutout to my friends Steven Broun and Jess Maltzman, who helped with the creative process. Jess helped work out a lot of the kinks in the early stages of the mix with me, and Steven really helped polish it with me and give input when my ears were fatigued from working on the track for too long. And lastly, shoutout to everyone who's listened to the track and given me support!" –Greta Olsen a.k.a. Keyfauver

 

If it's not clear already, I was really, really struck by Greta's poignant evocation of depression, to the point where I actually struggled quite a bit with writing this review—not because I couldn't come up with things to say about the track, but because it raised a lot of complex feelings that I had a hard time articulating. Even so, I think it's rather safe to say that the end result of "Knock" is a resoundingly successful one. Greta's songwriting, production, and mixing abilities collided in explosive fashion here, creating a haunting rendering of depression imbued with a ton of character and personality. That's not to say I don't have my points of contention with the track—I suppose I might have wished that the drums entered less abruptly and had more of a buildup, or that the time signature felt like it remained more constant throughout, or that we got a longer outro with a front-and-center guitar solo that got a bit more stage time with which to soar, but ultimately none of those relatively pedantic nitpicks of mine should take precedence over Greta's creative vision, because holy shit, it's a good one, and it brought to the surface a lot of very vivid memories I carry from my own experiences with mental health struggles and depression. Unfortunately, I think that means I won't be putting this track on for casual listening too often, but nonetheless, I came away from "Knock" with a healthy amount of respect for Greta's myriad skills as a lyricist, singer, songwriter, producer, and engineer. Even in the relative aftermath of the pandemic, something tells me we'll be getting plenty of pandemic-era depression songs for a long time to come, and if Keyfauver continues to gift us tracks like these, then I'll be more than happy to listen!

 

aonhe, RED_E¥E, JAYTIDE, Yuxin Ying - Consciousness

Reviewed by Reggie Katz

 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Stream "Consciousness" via RED_E¥E's LinkTree page!

 

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share  RED_E¥E, aonhe, JAYTIDE, and Yuxin Ying’s latest single, “Consciousness”, with you all this month! After reviewing Through the Hole in the World… and “Dance With Me”, two projects from RED_E¥E which I thoroughly enjoyed, I was thrilled to find out that he dropped another track this month with 3 collaborators that did nothing but bring out all of each other’s myriad strengths.

 

"…we had to record a podcast for one of our classes (but really felt like we wanted to make an experimental track), and I got very obsessed with the idea of consciousness. So I prompted the davinci model on OpenAI to write about why consciousness is violent and what consciousness is. It spit out some really creepy stuff, so we went on from there." –Anzhelika Nastashchuk a.k.a. aonhe

 

"The song started as the final project for our Fundamentals of Music Technology class with Professor Charles Mueller in Spring 2022… The assignment was to make a podcast but I think we kinda just wanted to make a song more than anything… Anzhelika generated a pretty interesting AI script for the podcast that Elizabeth and I spoke in the track, and before long Anzhelika had turned into an ambient electronic piece sprinkled with her beautiful backing vocals." –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E 

 

The song starts out with pulsating synth chords that gradually build until Rain’s voice comes in, speaking a brief monologue about consciousness and the problems that he sees in it, all voiced through a robotic-esque tone. Around the one-minute mark, a sweeping array of synths fly in and the use of panning makes them feel like they are swooping over you. This synth arrangement, featuring a plethora of different synths with very distinguished textures, builds for a little bit until they are stripped out partially. Here, aonhe’s voice comes in, with a robotic tone similar to Rain’s voice continuing his monologue about consciousness, what it means, and what it “really is.” After aonhe finishes her verse, there’s an interlude-sounding moment with a couple of the synths used previously, until the beat drop starts to build. The build into the beat drop and beat drop itself is so good that I think you should just go on your streaming service right now, listen to it, and then come back and finish the rest of this review if your brain is still intact! What makes this beat drop so great is that it really starts building as soon as the song starts, making the drop so satisfying when it finally happens. The drums on the drop have a really great stereo image and the sounds used to create the synths and risers sound like they were custom-made for this track as I have never heard anything like them before. The production is so clever and unique, and it flowed so perfectly. I would even go so far as to say this is the best beat drop I’ve heard from a music tech student in the last year. I loved how the main synth with the super crunchy sound was introduced and intertwined throughout the beginning of the song and it ended up being the most audible synth on the build to the drop. After the drop, the soft synths walking under us stay in a mellow place with various adlibs from aonhe. Some drums and bass come in that get us back in the groove of things. As if one incredible beat drop wasn’t enough, there’s a second one that’s just as great as the first! The track fades out with what sounds like a slightly varied version of the softer synths heard earlier in the track along with the occasional drum beat coming back in, and the glitchy adlib vocals similar to those that came before.

 

"…I started to feel like ['Consciousness'] needed something spicy so I produced and stitched in the first drop that you can hear in the final track. Then, I sent the stems over to Justin [JAYTIDE] who worked with my drop to structure a second drop. We turned it in and then sat on it… until last winter break, when I started mixing the track again. I added in my vocals and changed up the structure to make the track a little more dynamic… Overall, the track took nearly a year to actually complete and release. It feels really great to finally have it out." –Rain Edward a.k.a. RED_E¥E

 

The grungy electronic genre may not be for everyone, but I have no doubt that any music listener can respect what RED_E¥E, aonhe, JAYTIDE, and Yuxin Ying did here. This track is up there for one of my favorite releases I have heard from the Music Tech community, and one of the most brilliantly produced songs I have ever heard. Besides the production, which lives between experimental electronic music and grunge electronic music, the first thing that stands out about this song is how well it is mixed. It truly sounds like a mix that someone would pay thousands for. This group knows how to complement each other. Based on how great every aspect of this track is, it’s apparent that each group member knew how to work together to create the best possible final song. I hope that they eventually collaborate again, as this song was pure magic.

P.H.0 - Ascension 飛升

Reviewed by Ash

 

Stream "Ascension 飛升" through P.H.0's Linktree, and be sure to check out the collective on Instagram.

 

MTech collective P.H.0, an electronic music group comprised mostly of graduates of our program, first caught my attention this month with their new single, titled "Ascension 飛升". Its five members—Jun, SEN, Minghim, Chi-chi, and Zheyu—bring a wide variety of talents to the collective's work: Chi-chi is the group's resident "master erhuist", Jun plays post-rock guitar, Minghim specializes in modular synthesis, Zheyu plays drums, and SEN serves as the primary producer of the group's work. I'm not sure I've encountered a collective act before, at least within MTech, that embraces such a wide collision of talents from musical lanes that might seem unrelated to some, and this was a large part of the reason why I found myself so excited to write this review. Encountering artists who can break down the borders between genres to create something familiar but also fresh is perhaps the thing about reviewing music that brings me the most joy, and I'm pleased to say that P.H.0 was an extremely refreshing discovery on my end, meshing influences from a vast array of varying styles that come together to make something truly unlike anything I've ever heard before.

"A futuristic, cybernetic nomad riding across the vast Gobi desert in the dark, with the neon-lit cityscape of the monolith-looking Mongolian capital radiating from afar in the background—this Cyberpunk-influenced visual that I once saw in my dream eventually inspired the creation of this song." –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

"Ascension 飛升" opens on a hollow, almost-vocal synth pad that articulates a loosely pentatonic texture as a massive synth bass enters underneath. The track's opening is truly epic, as the synth sounds used convey a massive sense of scale; there's also some traditional East Asian instruments in the mix, as there's a low bowed string of some sort (maybe a zhonghu?) in the left channel that's rocking enough distortion that it almost feels like a warped electric guitar, and a beautiful pentatonic erhu melody cuts right down the center of the stereo field. The weeping, singsong timbre of the erhu is used exceptionally well here, and Chi-chi plays it with a wonderfully expressive touch. I really like its placement within the piece as a lead instrument; it's a fantastic foundational element around which everything else can arrange itself. Soon enough, though, we get a frenetic, fast-paced, complex breakbeat that ratchets the track's energy up to 11 and swerves us into drum and bass territory in a fantastic beat switch. The instrumental texture here is sparse—none of the melodic elements are too busy, and there's plenty of space to breathe, but the frequency spectrum is utilized to its fullest nonetheless, and the consistent bed of background chords maintains its epic feel.

 

"…I was listening to a lot of breakcore, mainly Sewerslvt, and decided to entertain the idea of combining the drum n' bass element and the synth-driven ambient washes in breakcore with progressive metal or 'cyber metal' in the kind of Northlane or 3TEETH…" –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

 

P.H.0 doesn't let us stay in this space for long, though, as we experience a meteoric collapse out of this first section into heavy metal guitar power chords and triplet hi-hats. There's a lot of sound effects here worth exploring, which I imagine are Minghim's contributions from the world of modular synthesis; I caught some scream-like noises, reverbed drums, and warbling synthesizer downers whizzing by in the background, which gives this section a distinctly cinematic feel. Soon, the drums begin to build once again as Jun's guitar comes to full prominence and we're into this section that feels like a Dorian Electra-style crossover between the aesthetics of dubstep and black metal, complete with halftime, pounding drum samples and distorted Phrygian guitar chugging. This moment was perhaps my favorite in the whole track; avid readers know that I love distorted guitar in electronic music, and its use here was exceptional, bringing an edgy yet organic element that never feels at odds with the piece's synth-heavy beginnings. The surrounding production was also really interesting; I caught some interplay between what sounded like a distorted electric bass and a rounded, heavy 808-esque synth bass that made for a very rhythmically diverse low end that I thought was really cool. Soon enough, we leave metal territory and the erhu returns, this time with some extra trills and ornaments that spice up this very austere melody just enough to keep things interesting. The tempo speeds up heading into the last leg of the track, where Jun's guitar and Chi-chi's erhu come together in a beautiful union, backed by what I can only assume is Zheyu on the drums. The track closes out on a beautiful punk-style breakdown, with heavy power chords and crashing drums backing Chi-chi's increasingly fast-paced erhu playing until the track explodes on a couple of snare hits that signal its ending.

 

"We… decided to replace the original morin khuur (known as the Mongolian cello) sample we stole from the Internet with Chi-chi's live erhu, which was recorded and engineered by our synth/electronic artist Minghim… Chi-chi decided to alter her usual playing style to mimic the kind of pitch fluctuation, a signature playing style of the morin khuur that is ubiquitous in traditional Mongolian folk music, as a way to connect to and illustrate the nomadic theme that we wanted to convey through this track." –Howard Ouyang a.k.a. SEN

There's a lot to love about "Ascension 飛升". Although it sounds nothing like what I'd conventionally consider hyperpop, it hits with the same sort of unhinged maximalism that is prevalent in the works of 100 gecs and Charli XCX, embracing a similarly insane mesh of crossgenre elements that come together to create something that itself defies genre. I really enjoyed the fusion of East Asian instruments and musicality with electronic music; Chi-chi's presence on this one brought so much melodic character and personality to the track, and really makes me wish I knew how to play erhu! Jun and Zheyu combined to give this already-crossgenre fusion of Mongolian traditional folk music & drum and bass a distinctly metal bent. I catch shades of Tony Iommi and Mick Thomson in Jun's heavy, percussive style of play, which synergized perfectly with SEN and Zheyu's work in creating a diverse drum palette that merges both samples and live drums into a colossal, momentum-driven package. Of course, Minghim's work in creating the sound effects and synth ambiences for this piece shouldn't be glossed over either; I imagine that much of the credit for the cinematic, sweeping feel of this piece goes to him. I truly have no constructive feedback to give—"Ascension 飛升" is a breakneck journey of insane proportions, approaching a listening experience that flirts with maximalism to the point of teetering on sensory overload in a way, but I think that's what makes it so perfect. At the end of it all, I think P.H.0 is positioned for something really exciting, and something tells me their crossgenre sensibilities may one day take us to places we've truly never been to before.

~~~~

That's all for this month's edition, but stay tuned for some very exciting stuff coming out in the near future! We've got an album review of Kai Banda's Days At Home further on down the pipeline. Secondly, the question of Ash's identity will finally be revealed—after which we hope to come back stronger than ever with artist interviews, concert reviews, and maybe even short-form video content. Safe to say that I'm really excited for how this is gonna turn out, and as always, I'm so incredibly grateful to be on this journey with all of you. In the meantime, reach out to us if you release anything new, and we'll be sure to give it a look! Thanks so much and Reggie and I will be back in April!

-Ash

EP Review: Noraaa - Piece of Mind

 Noraaa's Piece of Mind is a well-rounded debut chock-full of soul, encapsulating a poignant brand of early-adulthood vulnerability.

Reviewed by Troy Embe, edited by Ash

 

Take a moment to listen to Piece of Mind through Noraaa's Distrokid Hyperfollow page, which contains the links to the project on Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes!

 

FEW THINGS ARE AS UNIVERSAL as the experience of moving away from home for the first time—that first night spent sleeping in a bed that feels different from the one you grew up with, in a freshman dorm that is now your new home, across from some snoring stranger from Florida with whom you now share a living space. Those memories of freshman year are of the kind which I suspect will remain quite vivid for the rest of my life, as eighteen-year-old Troy (which is not my real name!) battled the disorientation of being plucked from a familiar place and dropped smack dab into the chaos of New York City. Evidently, as much as a formative experience as that first month away from home was for me personally, I am not the only one, as judging from her 2021 debut EP, Piece of Mind, I suspect that Noraaa, known to those of us in MTech as Nora Deely, went through a similar experience. Though this EP is just as much about love as it is about youth, Piece of Mind occupies a place in my mind that is uniquely associated with that experience of growing up and moving to a new city, and it conveys the awe and wonder of this experience through a hefty helping of warm, bedroom pop-flavored soul music imbued with a lot of musical skill. In short, Nora's first EP is an enjoyable collection of songs that serves as an effective introduction to Noraaa as an artist, showcasing her earnest songwriting, mesmerizing vocals, and nostalgic DIY production sensibilities in equal measure.

"I started writing the songs for Piece of Mind in August 2020 when I first moved to New York… It had always been a goal of mine to come out with an EP, but when I first started writing the songs I didn't think about if I would make an EP out of them, I just wanted to express my feelings." –Nora Deely a.k.a. Noraaa

 

"Infatuated" opens the story with watery guitar chords and reverb-soaked, intimate vocals. "Girl, where'd you come from?" Nora sings, her loose, flowing vibrato and plaintive delivery already solidifying her as a natural fit for this brand of old school R&B. The guitar plays warm, descending, chromatic seventh chords with a distinctly amateur-feeling vibe—by no means do I wish to say that the guitar here is badly performed, and on the contrary, I actually think it gives the music a very nice, bedroom pop feel. The chorus serves as a continuation of this aesthetic, as Nora's vocals soar into a wondrous falsetto and sparse drums and bass enter underneath. The soundscape is dripping with character, and thoroughly avoids feeling "sterile" in the way lots of studio pop songs do. The slight variations in timing between the guitar and the bass, the heavy reverb that fully saturates the listening space, Nora's expressive, tuneful, yet soft & restrained vocals—all of these things contribute to feeling like I'm sitting in Nora's freshman-year dorm room, watching her sit on the bed and work out the chords to this song on her guitar. It was here where it became evident to me that Piece of Mind was not meant to be digested as a piece of overpolished, Top 40 pop radio. It's meant to be consumed on its own terms, as a project that embraces its status as a debut, and all the imperfections implied by that status. It implies a sense of self-acceptance that I find very endearing, and shines through every facet of this project. The second chorus is followed by a key change, wherein Nora sings about coming to terms with the possibility that the person who is the object of the titular infatuation doesn't feel the same way. The mood of this key change is superb, and Nora's closing line of "And you probably don't feel the same way I do/And that's okay, that's just… fine" ends our opening track on a resolutely sad yet strangely hopeful & mature note, as the last chord fades out into the gentle electronic buzz of Nora's guitar.

The second track, "Let Go", introduces the first synthesizer appearance on the album, as a set of natural minor pad chords open this track. Nora delivers breathy mixed-voice passages as the backing track slowly builds and expands to include a bell-like synth countermelody and an analog synth bass. Nora seems to like giving her vocals a chance to sit front and center to start her songs, at least judging by the openings of both this track and the previous one, and that tendency of hers pays off here, as she performs some beautiful melismas with confident precision. A swelling riser takes us into the chorus; Nora sings "you make me wanna let go" as a chorus of backing vocals enters alongside trap hi-hats and a heavy kick that makes this feel like a Summer Walker or Usher track. I felt I was missing the snare here, as it's pushed back into the mix so far that the groove starts to get lost. I also could have done with a more well-defined bass that cut through the mix a little better, though the chorus is nonetheless extremely catchy, and the chorus of backing vocals give the hook a somewhat cloying, manic feeling that makes "Let Go" a little removed from simply being a run-of-the-mill love song. It feels almost like panic, in a way, where Nora grapples with the desire to "let go", to give in, racing against the fear of being overwhelmed in the way young love tends to do. In conclusion, although the mix could have been improved in my opinion, the vibe of this track is still something to behold, making Nora's brief venture into the aesthetics of modern trap a successful one.

"The first song I wrote [for Piece of Mind] is 'Here Now', which is a groovy song about the exciting feeling of coming to a new place, leaving the past behind, and my inner thoughts about it all. A mix of optimism and anxiety about starting to pursue my dreams of a career in music… it was a great start to this project because as I created the EP, I was doing what I was singing about in "Here Now"… taking my fresh start and working to create my own music/achieve my dreams." –Nora Deely a.k.a. Noraaa

Track three, "Here Now", is a significantly more disco-influenced track than either of the previous two, propelled by a syncopated bassline over straightforward drums. The drum sound selection here was rather interesting—having opted for a reverb-heavy clap sound instead of a typical dry disco snare alongside prominent cowbells and shakers, the rhythmic palette is diverse and channels the funky atmosphere well. The chorus brings an offbeat shaker and layers of backing vocals, which together create a sense of the track expanding outwards and becoming larger in scope. Something felt tonally off to me in the song, though, and I began to notice it particularly during this section. I think what's happening is that the leading tone in Nora's vocal melody keeps colliding with the minor seventh in the bass and chords; it was a little distracting, but nothing so disquieting that it kept me from enjoying the track. I think the mix could also be improved slightly. The backing vocals have a tendency to overtake and overwhelm the lead vocal at points, and the heavy reverb results in a loss of definition that muddies the groove a little, but the song underneath is still superb either way. This is probably the track that most heavily leans into the EP's loose narrative theme of arriving in a new place, and its presentation parallels that theme as well. Nora's vocals convey a sense of underlying anxiety as she sings about how she "came here in the summertime, music on my mind"—there's a certain degree of confidence to it, but also a slightly nervous edge that my younger self would have resonated with had I heard this song at that age. Being thrust into adulthood isn't an easy experience for anyone, and Nora's presentation of that theme feels like a consistent oscillation between anxiety and cautious self-confidence that works really well. The entrance of the horns halfway through the track is also a really nice touch. To me, this feels like the first time walking down Broadway without your parents in tow, taking in all the sights and sounds of a new city as an adult. Something weird to note about this track is that at least on Apple Music, where I'm listening, there's an extra minute or so of silence at the end of the track. I am unsure if that's a mastering error of some sort, but I thought I should mention it. Either way, "Here Now" is a nice conveyance of the experience of emerging into adulthood, and the nods to funk & disco merge with Nora's established sound quite well.

"These Days", the fourth and penultimate track on the EP, opens with Nora singing about loneliness over a sweet Rhodes electric piano as sparse drums outline a 6/8 groove. There are some really cool modal changes here, as Nora employs occasional non-diatonicisms in the chord progressions that keep things constantly shifting in a way that feels simultaneously unexpected but also wholly natural. The vulnerability of the soundscape here positions this track as being our deepest window into Nora's soul yet, as she discusses coming to terms with "having a harder time moving through life". Nora's expression of the feeling of trying to work through anxiety in order to make someone proud who has passed on comes across as thoroughly earnest & heartfelt, and cements this song as one of my favorites on the record. By the end of the song, it's clear that Nora's singing to someone specific, as the song becomes almost a letter of sorts to Gabe, who I can only assume is someone who meant very much to Nora at one point. The specifics don't even really matter all that much here; it's obvious that Nora's coming from a truly sincere and genuine place, and that passion and emotion fully comes through in what makes for perhaps the EP's most emotionally impactful moment, when Nora's vocals soar into some stunning higher passages and gently take us out of the track. It feels like Nora poured out everything she had into this song, and so "These Days" is thoroughly successful, not only as a song, but also as an expression of grief, a dedication to a loved one, a message to someone who may never hear it. In short, it's a hell of a thing, and it cuts deep in a way not many songs do for me.

"…I think I started each song a little differently. I don't like to restrict myself to specific rules when creating art, I prefer to just do whatever feels right in the moment and see where that takes me. I know for the songs 'Infatuated' and 'Lately' I started writing those songs when I was practicing for my jazz guitar lessons. I was just messing around on my guitar and suddenly I played a really nice chord progression… just like that I started writing those songs with those chords as the bass." –Nora Deely a.k.a. Noraaa

 

The EP reaches its concluding track with a song called "Lately", which begins on sweet minor guitar chords and Nora's opening line of "Lately, I've been going crazy". The song mostly leaves us in this sparse soundscape of solely vocals and guitar, but the chord changes and melodic sweeps do plenty to keep us entertained, as Nora hits some dramatic vocal lifts and falls that almost reminded me of Whitney Houston in a way. Halfway through, the track switches up slightly, as the guitar switches from strummed chords to arpeggiated passages and the song's sole backing vocal is introduced. The song embraces a certain defiance of conventional pop structure; there's no clear hook or chorus that I can detect, and it mostly reads like one long verse, but I think that's appropriate for the song's subject matter, which is mostly a dedication to a love interest, and a promise that "we'll figure it out" no matter how difficult things get. It's a simple but wonderfully romantic emotional premise that Nora once again manages to totally sell, so the song's existence as an amoebic, flowing, somewhat formless idea doesn't bother me. Nora's songwriting and vocal abilities convey the emotion of this track perfectly, and the song's themes of forging ahead and taking on challenges as they come is a strong one on which to end the EP.

 

 

"It is hard sometimes to be a musician (especially a woman in music) because it is so easy to feel like you aren't good enough or you don't know enough. But when the music just flows out of me so naturally like that, I feel like I'm on top of the world. It is that feeling that makes me want to pursue music as a career." –Nora Deely a.k.a. Noraaa

 

Debut projects have always been something I have found fascinating, to a degree. I feel like debut projects are like capturing the moment when the rose blossoms, or the butterfly emerges from the cocoon, and as such, they can tell us a great deal about an artist right from the outset as they take their proverbial first steps. In keeping with this, I felt I learned a lot about both Nora the person and Noraaa the artist through Piece of Mind. This short, five-song EP is a snapshot of what it's like to land in a new city and all of a sudden be tasked with finding yourself, and Nora conveys the inherent vulnerability, uncertainty, insecurity, and emotional circumstance of this moment with a songwriter's voice that feels both unique and universal. She wields an economical pen, crafting lyrics that always manage to use few words to say a lot. Her production and musicianship follow similar trends. Piece of Mind never risks becoming overencumbered with elements, and Nora's songs universally make only a few elements—light guitar, sparse drums, a backing vocal here and there—feel like something much larger in scope, which in my view is a far more impressive feat than making a track with 300 stems in it. Perhaps most obviously, Nora is a hell of a singer, and brings a down-to-earth and vulnerable yet unwaveringly strong voice that suits her musical pocket perfectly. This blend of traits together comprise the biggest strength of this debut, specifically in that I was able to go into this project knowing nothing about Noraaa as an artist and come out of it with a very clear sense of who she is and what she is here to do—which to me is the standard to which all debuts should aspire.

 

That said, this EP is still rough around the edges, in a way, and I think the argument could be made that that is indeed part of its appeal, but I did consistently have thoughts about the project's mixing work. This project is soaked in reverb to the point where it sometimes makes things feel smeared or blurry, which prevented me from enjoying all of the details present in Nora's production and vocals. That said, as an aesthetic choice, I think it suits Nora perfectly. To be clear, I'm not talking about the Nora Deely of the present day—I'm talking about freshman year Nora, brand new to the city, searching for love in new places, slowly piecing together these songs in her dorm room. The EP captures the experience of budding adulthood like nothing else I've heard, and all of its idiosyncrasies only add to that magical quality. At the end of it all, I believe my single biggest knock against this record is how long Nora is making us wait for more music. However, even in this regard, Nora's preempted me, and has gladly shared with us the news that she hopes to have more music out soon! So stay tuned for that—I'm sure that many of us here in New York, myself included, are eager to see what the Nora of the present day is up to, given that the Nora from semesters long since passed was able to capture our hearts so well.

Personal enjoyment score: 8.5 out of 10

Standout tracks: "Infatuated", "These Days"

EP REVIEW: Dog Collar - Jungle Fairy Tale

Jungle Fairy Tale continues and builds on Dog Collar's total commitment to the spirit of headbanging, taking his unique sound to even greater heights.

Reviewed by Ash

AUTHOR'S NOTE: As always, please remember to support Dog Collar's work by streaming the EP! The links to the EP on all platforms can be accessed through Dog Collar's Linktree! Also, feel free to check out my review of Dog Collar's previous studio album, Turbo Squid, at this link.

 

UPDATE: This article has been updated to include credits for the sample used in "catherine", per Dog Collar's request!

 

AT THE OUTSET OF the most recent fall semester, Dog Collar, known as Sunil Prahbu to his colleagues on the eighth floor, released his most recent album, the nine-track, 38-minute Turbo Squid. Packed back-to-front with hard-edged, bass-heavy electronic bangers, Turbo Squid combined techno, jungle, and drum & bass influences into a chaotic, frenzied package. The end result felt utterly tailor-made for strobe lights, massive speaker racks, and crowded nightclubs—a scene not unfamiliar to Dog Collar considering his status as a regular presence as a live performer, most frequently as one half of Ecliptic alongside fellow MTech undergrad Kid Reno. I myself really enjoyed the album—the grounded sample choices mixed with truly ingenious manipulation and constantly-evolving processing resulted in a really grimy, hard-edged aesthetic that for me is a sound uniquely associated with Sunil and his work. Turbo Squid ended up being unequivocally one of my favorite techno projects of last semester, and I found myself still bumping tracks like "Multi Split Scan" and "Praise Dobbler" well into the new year!

Luckily, Sunil didn't make us wait too long for a new Dog Collar project. This latest EP, Jungle Fairy Tale, released during the thick of finals week last December, and feels like a stylistic branching-off from Turbo Squid. While Jungle Fairy Tale retains Dog Collar's grimy, fast-paced, dance-oriented drum grooves, the sample choices employed here are generally brighter & more ethereal than those that appeared on the previous LP. The resulting intermarriage between dusty jungle breakbeats and heady, sparkling synthesizer samples creates an interesting, varied soundscape that feels like emerging into a proverbial sunrise following the underwater darkness of Turbo Squid. If you're brand new to the universe of Dog Collar, then Jungle Fairy Tale makes for an excellent introduction to Sunil's trademark swirling, undulating production; if you're a returning fan, like me, then this new EP feels like an entertaining & compelling stylistic advancement of his established style, pushing Dog Collar's unique aesthetic forward into new territory. 

The fairy tale begins with a track called "catherine", which plunges us headfirst into the music with a downward-sweeping filter over a fast-paced drum break and Phrygian bass riff, in an intro that almost evoked the aesthetics of surf rock for me were it not for the recontextualization of these elements into something that feels distinctly jungle. The instrumental soundscape here is really interesting, as we get some flickering analog synth chords and a soaring pseudo-theremin synth lead thick with vibrato for an unhinged retro vibe; think Darude's "Sandstorm" crossed with Aphex Twin. This is a sample of "Up! Up! Up!" from the Catherine: Full Body OST, sped up and manipulated in another display of Sunil's trademark sampling prowess. A wubby, distorted offbeat synth bass takes up the pulse in the track's second movement as a spoken, chopped vocal sample enters, proclaiming "we control the sound" over and over with thunderous aplomb. "catherine" makes for a rather convincing argument that Dog Collar does, indeed, control the sound, as the various elements are mashed together expertly to create a thoroughly energetic and invigorating final product with an excellent sense of dancefloor rhythm. The track eventually exchanges its wubby bass for a thickly distorted, sliding 808 that reinvents the track's groove with a huge, sub-heavy pulse that goes insanely hard. I really love Sunil's ability to communicate energy and bombast through his surging, kinetic production; as on Turbo Squid, he always switches out elements at just the right time to keep the track moving forward, showcasing a natural sense of pacing that I feel makes for a big part of why he's able to make tracks as long as this one without ever making the listener bored. "catherine" is the longest track on Jungle Fairy Tale, clocking in at a whopping five minutes and thirty-nine seconds, but Sunil's innate sense of pacing and commitment to dynamism in his production make those five minutes thoroughly enjoyable, and the track never overstays its welcome. In short, "catherine" makes for a resoundingly successful opening to the EP as it reminds the listener that Dog Collar is here to make us dance, and make us dance he does.

The following track, "thisisfun", opens with heavenly, chopped-up synth chords mashed together to create a somewhat off-kilter, ambiguously tonal chord progression under which sparse, fluttering D&B drums and a distant spoken vocal sample enter. The filter work is lovely on this track, as Dog Collar uses a variety of dynamic filters on the bass and synth chords to make them open and close in various ways that feel almost organic, sort of like the way a guitarist might use a wah pedal to achieve an imitation of the human singing voice. Around a minute and a half in, we get sung vocal chops and shimmering chimes in a moment that takes us into significantly brighter territory in terms of mood, like a brief ray of sunshine poking through. The track becomes more clearly tonal, settling in a major key for a brief moment of calm that creates a nice chill vibe and contrasts with the track's earlier modal chaos. Soon enough, though, we're thrown right back into the danceable, bass-heavy soundscape, as a swelling, subby synth bass, hissing open hats, and ethereal washes of chimes reinvigorate the track with a breakneck, driving pulse. I really enjoyed the switch-ups in this track; Dog Collar's dynamic soundscapes have always been something I've enjoyed about his music, but I feel that the careful addition of new elements and subtraction of old ones really elevates the arrangement of this track in particular. Dog Collar's careful curation of the different elements within the track really shines here, resulting in a truly dynamic listening experience that always gives the listener something new on which to fixate.

"buzzz" is a track which quickly reminded me of Nintendo music perhaps more so than any other in Dog Collar's discography, as Dog Collar pairs a fast-paced breakbeat with a steady 808 bassline and empyrean synth chords for a soundscape that feels very "Rainbow Road" to me. The addition of a distant, feminine whisper of a vocal sample feels like the track is trying to communicate a deeper feeling, and gives it a sense of poignancy and depth despite the distance of the vocal chops rendering the specific words mostly unintelligible. I don't know I can describe why it makes me feel the way that it does—but whatever Sunil did really struck a chord with me. As the track continues, we get a retro, analog-flavored synth lead in the right channel, furthering the Nintendo parallels and pushing this track further into the realm of video game music. I'm sure there's some complicated music theory explanation as to why this track resembles video game music, but I can't for the life of me figure out what exactly makes it work! I just know it does, and the resulting vibes are quite simply immaculate. The juxtaposition of bright, energetic synth samples and soothing spoken samples with dingy breakbeats and strange Phrygian-mode progressions creates a really unique cross-section only Sunil can pull off, and it's here that I catch the biggest and most visible shifts away from the heady deep-ocean darkness of Turbo Squid. The emotional contour of this track is ridiculous; it's relaxing and peaceful while also being edgy and breakneck, and I'm not sure I've heard anything like it before. Suffice it to say that "buzzz" made quite an impression on me, and something tells me it's gonna take many more listens before I find the words to sum up the way it makes me feel.

Our journey into the aesthetics of Mario Kart continues with a track titled "titled", which opens with a bending, soft-clipped synth bass over ethereal chime chords, distant, almost-tonal vocal chops, and a hard-hitting, boom bap-esque drum break. The resulting combination sort of feels like a Mario Kart soundtrack produced by A Tribe Called Quest, which is a fascinating combination that has no right to work as well as it does! Phife Dawg would be right at home over this beat's jazzy chord voicings and punchy drums; the resulting mental image made me wish Sunil would team up with a rapper and actually make a proper jazz rap album one day (I'm sure RED_E¥E or Thai Thai would be down!). The otherwise sparse drum beat goes double time about a minute in and some fast-paced, rhythmic synth parts get added to diversify the rhythm a little more. The track also brings in some heavy metal sounds in a huge curveball of a beat switch, as Dog Collar combines his trademark fast-paced acoustic drum breakbeats and syncopated synth bass with massive, chunky, distorted, Phrygian electric guitar power chords. I really enjoy the subtle rhythmic variation added by the different melodic synth parts, and the addition of the electric guitar power chords absolutely jacks the energy up to 11 in a moment that I absolutely love. I've spoken at length on this blog about how much I love guitar work outside of rock & metal songs, and Sunil manages to use the electric guitar as a true secret weapon here. It's totally unexpected and it works amazingly well, making this track perhaps one of my favorites on the album. Even by the very-high standards of a typical Dog Collar track, the dynamism and evolution of this track is off the charts, with more beat switches than I can count—but in spite of that, the song never feels disjunct, and every section flows into the next as naturally as can be. As if that wasn't enough, Dog Collar even throws us one more beat switch before the track's end, which serves as a seamless transition into the following track, "watersports".

I'm a huge sucker for seamless transitions between songs, and so "watersports" ingratiated itself to me rather well right from the outset, as it grows and expands out of the progression established during the final minute of the previous track. Dog Collar throws us a number of different samples here, including a descending melodic run played on some sort of woodwind, and a couple different sung vocal samples. These are soon paired with rapid kicks and shuffling hi-hats in a moment of true purist D&B that feels like it would have been right at home on Turbo Squid. The pulse of this track is crazy, and maintains such a fierce clip that it threatens to strain my neck from all the headbanging! As if in response to this, the track's second half brings a gradual tempo slowdown, pulling the vibes from the frenetic D&B of the first half to a significantly more chill '90s house throwback anchored in syncopated synth organ chords, four-on-the-floor kick drums, and regular, offbeat open hats. I really enjoyed this beat switch, and it makes for a really nice response to the track's frenetic opening salvo. As much as I love Sunil's ability to capture absurd levels of energy, the fact that we spend so much time headbanging makes little moments of calm like this one that much more effective. "watersports" lets us sit in this chill space for a little while before gently pulling back and exiting with a fade out.

When I first pulled up this EP and saw the tracklist, I found myself very excited to get to the last track, "jacuzzi", mainly because it's an official collaboration between Dog Collar and Kid Reno! I was super excited to see what the two producers would bring to the table together, and it made for a great opportunity to experience Ecliptic as a whole unit. The piece opens on a single syncopated bass riff; soon, swirling UFO-like sound effects and hollow, swelling pads provide a dark, cybernetic texture that feels like a marriage between the aquatic murkiness of Turbo Squid and Techno for Children & Dogs. I really enjoyed the drum work on this track; the crazy offbeat crispy snare hits, subdivided hi-hats, and splash-like kick create an excellent groove together. The synth work and sound design is also amazing here. I'm guessing Reno had something to do with that; his prowess with synthesizers is truly legendary and the otherworldly, frantic darkness of the synth texture here feels very much like a Kid Reno flavor to me. A huge beat switch hits halfway through the track, as the soundscape becomes utterly swallowed by huge, muffled sub-heavy kicks that take us down into a space that feels significantly more cavernous and claustrophobic, with reflections of the kicks bouncing off the walls and crashing back in on themselves. The soundscape becomes additionally punctuated by synth sounds, but even those gently fade away until all we're left with is a distorted, swirling, boomy texture of reverbed kicks. The track fades away on an oceanic, sweeping synth sound that takes us down and out from Jungle Fairy Tale, ending the EP on a distinctly darker note than the tracks preceding. In spite of everything, though, I found myself not a huge fan of this track, particularly the kick-heavy second half. I loved the first half, and I felt I could have been thoroughly entertained had we spent another couple minutes exploring that soundscape, but the second half felt too bottom-heavy to me. I'm sure the heavy kick and overwhelming reverb are intentional aesthetic choices, but it sounded to me like there was some clipping present, and it makes the second half of "jacuzzi" a bit overstimulating to listen to for me, on both monitors and headphones. Even so, the collision of Reno and Sunil's talents as producers was super cool to witness, and the bit when the drums first enter during the opening seconds of "jacuzzi" itself probably ranks as one of my favorite single moments on the whole project.

If it's not clear already, I really enjoyed Jungle Fairy Tale, and I feel like it's far and away the best way to enjoy the music of Dog Collar. This new EP retains the best aspects of Turbo Squid and distills them down into a tight six tracks that make for an excellent showcase of Dog Collar's unique talents. At the same time, though, it also makes for a wonderful advancement of Dog Collar's aesthetic, and I'm really enjoying this brighter, more ethereal take on his brand of unhinged, headbanging D&B. Sunil is truly at the height of his powers here, and aside from my small mixing nitpicks with "jacuzzi", I really have no major criticisms of the project. Where I felt that Turbo Squid might have spent a bit too much time exploring similar soundscapes, Jungle Fairy Tale consistently threw new and interesting ideas at me for the entirety of its runtime, and I was consistently wowed by the amount of creativity and ingenuity on display here. Where Turbo Squid was the darkness, Jungle Fairy Tale is the sunrise, and I hope that this EP marks the start of a journey onwards and upwards. I can't possibly imagine what a Dog Collar project that's even better than this one would sound like, but I await its arrival very eagerly, and I just hope that we won't have to wait for long!

Personal enjoyment score: 9 out of 10

Standout tracks: All six tracks are excellent, but if I had to pick favorites, they would probably be "buzzz" and "titled".