Unsung -- The Paint

"The Paint", an album by rapper Unsung, is chock full of thoughtful, piercing lyrics, wonderfully juxtaposed against a fantastic menagerie of sounds. As talented artists often do, Unsung cinches together an array of genres to create his own elusive style.

"If You Are Still Here..." opens the album with coolly ambient, open chords. The piece crescendoes into a pulsing, rhythmic piece, complete with shuffling scratches, nicely rendered synths, setting a meticulous pace for a thoughtful hip-hop album.

A lone, steadily beaten block brings in second track "Constant", and then Unsung's words burst into consciousness, delving straight into the listener's mind and calling upon powerful images of childhood and desperation that is bolstered by a melancholy electric piano.

Third track "Moments Ago and Before" marches in with a deceptively charming piano harmony, but the tone  is more aggressive, the thoughts more declarative. It shifts agitatedly into "Still Life Features" (Prod. by Tapureka), a driving, rare piece that weaves dubby, distorted sounds with snares and trembling synths into timeless forms.

Track five, "Broad Shoulders of the Earth", glimmers with industry, full of oily color and texture, and "Briny" wields a sly, alley-catlike jazz backbeat and then constructs a vivid word poem in dizzying fast lazy drawl: "They only whisper secrets I could never keep/ Because no trusting mouth of my friends/ Meets a trusting ear on me."

Track seven,"That Dark Works Perfectly", begins more laid back in tone than the tracks before it, building and storing a mass of frenetic energy that culminates in sung vocals that are at once self-conscious and sublime against a sorrowfully revolving keyboard and a booming beat.

Warm, organ-like notes begin eighth track "...I Will Wait", a quietly ambient instrumental piece that gently lulls the listener into an entirely different listening pattern. It leads seamlessly into "Head Coma", a track that starts out placid, grows cheerfully insistent, and finally becomes a catchy groove over the abstracted but powerful words.

Track ten, "Wake for Waves" is sinister, curling like black smoke around bass and swelling into the floating words and trembling notes."Under a Lemon Tree" begins sharply and then continues in the same vein of rich word poems that recline languidly over their own vivid imagery: "Our hands are printed words with cursive overtones fingers straight but twist around each other ivy on the face of stone."

Twelfth track "Old and Dead" begins quietly, at first jesting lightly with distorted vocals, molding itself into an agile poem.

"Thomas, Full of Fireflies" exhibits a transcendent, meditative beat, humming a lament into a scant reminder of a gospel; "Cloud Cover" sits loftily above it, using ever-so light rhythms over quiet eulogies that render impressions of nostalgia and loss.

"Empty Stage", a resigned farewell to an invisible audience, slips off into silence; it's a formidable veneer to finish this album of countless lyrics, recollections and patterns.

All in all: Unsung moves his listeners through his stage, at points jolting them into awareness only to becalm them into silence. He escapes tired conventions of endless loops and repetitions by crafting gradual buildups that culminate in vividly evocative poetry.

Available on Unsung's Page, name your own price. Unsung is also on Facebook.

Tay0-- Names and Numbers

"Names and Numbers", the most recent album available from Tay0, is a fulfilling and exciting aural experience that showcases brilliant bass and percussion-led tracks. These pieces at once generate vivid imagery and span a spectrum of styles.

First track "Jodrell Bank" opens with strong percussive elements and a faint buzz, relying on soft, rattling beats that morph into bass pulses and ominous drones. A quiet synth that feels at once hopeful and maligned interplays with the sharply glitched elements of the track.

Slower in tempo, second track "Wintermute" displays a mosquito-ey synth supported by a watery and diverse percussion. It fits, strangely enough, very well with following track "Behold tha Lamb", a piece that builds itself around a booming spiritual woman's voice preaching. By working her voice through the chaos of synths and an upbeat rhythm, there is a somehow symbiotic blend between the two seemingly unamalgamable styles.

"Backscatter" moves away from the characteristic upbeat rhythmic patterns of before, using eerie echoes, a hint of bass and a slight smatter of random blips to surround the listener with chilling sounds. Sound-rays like distant sirens creep up and down the spine amidst the frenetic blips, proving that it's somehow possible to emulate the sensations of going through a backscatter scanner with sound. 

Easing us back into a more comfortable, more high-spirited beat, fifth track "Names and Numbers" features smoothly expanding hums and gently tinkling little synths whispering above twisting mids that unwind and finally detune. Following up is the well-recorded "ModoKun (Live 01092010)". It opens with a deep booming rumble and unwinds into impressive, frenetically paced drums, which are well-bolstered by an airy synth.

Track seven "Bubblegum Beats" encompasses a number of vibes: first, it opens with a solemn synth and beat. Then cleverly played, enthusiastically cheerful video game beats hop over soda slurping and sunny plungs. Finally, the track darts into a synthesized beat breakdown, while vocals gleefully tell us: "Oh that's so sweet. It's so melodic. It's so tuneful, and accessible; this is Bubblegum Music!" 

The final track "Flyover Country" is more serious, sincere, and shows off once more Tay0's ability to paint complex visuals with his sounds. The track's elevated sonic movements glint and gleam, making for a well rounded track that feels like a view of earth and sky at a travelling pace. The fadeout comes as a gently ascending takeoff, leaving listeners satisfied.

All in all: Listen if you are desirous of strong rhythms and bass without sacrificing ambience, and if you're in the mood for a wonderfully varied album that makes excellent use of transitions. The album has a fantastic balance of lighthearted upbeat grooves and sobering moments, and is a mature, attentively created collection. 


Available on Tay0's site, free download. Find more on Soundcloud.

Kadaj Da Kid-- Portrait

While Kadaj Da Kid primarily describes himself as an instrumental hip-hop artist hoping to pass on beats, his tracks on his latest album "Portrait" are strong enough to stand on their own.

The first track "Violet Eye" opens with a rolling, soft electric guitar-like synth, augmented by a quiet bass; these sounds provide a frame for the laid back yet soft beat. 

Deeper and more brooding than the first track, "Eternal" has a sense of quickening in its midlevels by using a looping synth that spirals around the central beat. The track manages to sound minimalist yet rich, allowing listeners to focus on the patterns that emerge.

Third track "Frozen" is almost orchestral, with a lilting guitar, light piano chords, and a light piccolo sound, punctured by an occasional electric guitar. The beat is deep and laid back, and is well complemented by the bright tones. Kadaj Da Kid holds onto the mood with the next track: marked by a handdrum-like beat, "Pearl Swan" is a mysterious, well syncopated track that incorporates the sounds of light, floating synths, keys, and a rolling percussion. 

Moving from cooler tones, fifth track "Postscript" features a bass vocal sample elevated by warm, appealing keys that is underscored by handclaps and a bass drum to round out the tone. "Dusk" has a similarly calmative resonance, featuring another bass vocal sample and a sturdy beat that pulses without disturbing the smoothness of the sounds. Nicely syncopated glitchy noises flutter around softly, infusing the track with a twinkling essence.

Track seven "Dawn" is fittingly energetic after the calm of "Dusk", with a sharply assertive electronic synth synching up with a strong, dominant beat, and  "Believe" returns to smoother grounds, but maintains a lively quality, melting beat with synth-trumpet-like staccatos and a humming loop.

The deep, bouncy bass of ninth track "Deja Vu" nicely mirrors the percussion, and the track cleverly creeps through its tones, showcasing organs, keys, and a hint of electric guitar. 

Tenth track "Cosmos" is a marked departure from the rest of the album, relying on ethereal electronic tones underwritten by a shuffling beat. 

Final track "The Dark Arts" features a vocal sample and a driving beat, making it the most aggressive and emotional piece on the album.

All in all: Kadaj Da Kid has made an offering of engaging, catchy beats and instrumentals. Even independent of vocals, Kadaj Da Kid's sounds showcase a talent for both variety and steadfastness, and the ability to create thoughtful, crafted foundations for hip hop instrumentals.

Available on Kadaj Da Kid's site, name your own price.

Dubh-- Fractured Broken and Beautiful

Dubh's resonant, evocative 18 track album "Fractured Broken and Beautiful" shifts and glides through a spectrum of sounds using samples, synths, and beats to map out a somber album. His ideas are well rounded by shimmering moods and great depths; it's a phenomenal album for the pensive from start to finish. 

"Hello" fades listeners in with a rolling thrum, and through the murk a clipped sample greets and beckons. The album's watery beginning manages to outdo expectations of typical introductory first tracks through beautifully created sound collections. 

Distorted piano fuzz plays in the margins of the next track, "Without Pain", guiding it through the kaleidoscopic, forested sounds that feel as though their origin comes from the listener's own chest. We're then shifted into "You Will Find", a track that hums and shimmers, twisting hauntingly through its deepening of sounds. Particularly enjoyable is the faintly syncopated rhythm section that intertwines with the light sample.

As we climb deeper into the album, fourth track "Reality at Any Point" beats and throbs-- its sounds are nearly tangible. One of Dubh's major talents seems to be his adept handling of the sounds he creates; he allows his ideas to linger, fade and crescendo at exactly the right moments, never overpowering his ideas. "Geography and Chronology" showcases this talent, as piano, gentle windlike sounds, and sampling keep from dominating one another. 

Sixth track "Small Things" has a timid quality that recollect visions of drowned wind up toys forgotten but not yet gone. Next, "Fracture Broken and Beautiful" incorporates that same magical timid piano quality to it, but deepens itself with pizzicato bass underscores. The track glimmers and creeps and swells-- it's beautifully emotional without being maudlin.

Breaking listeners out of the reverie with extraordinary bass echoes, Dubh fades in "And We Do Not Know". The distinguished rhythm keeps the track gratefully pensive and moody rather than eerie or disquieting. Deftly, Dubh has moved his audience from the previous wilting mood to one of restlessness and quiet action. "Truth Becomes" continues in this vein and is more glitchy and clipped. Particularly lovely are the piercing, stretched piano tones against the scant rhythm.

Tenth track "Inside Ourselves" is a more muted, grave experience, using somnambulant mids rather than throbbing basses. The piece feels like an organic growth and intermingling of its own sounds rather than a painstakingly crafted idea.

"Musette" has a guitarlike theme that pulls away from the more restless feelings, and elevates the mood to a reflective, clear state of mind, and "Angeltech" layers light and dark, pricking the senses with rhythmic ticking, enigmatic voice samples, and a slightly foreboding bass.

Thirteenth track "Mild Methodology" is anything but mild-- it's a dark, pacing return to restlessness, but the cleverly timed drum rhythms keep the track from becoming unnerving, and immediately following, the aptly titled "I'm A Cyborg" features distorted organs and a plodding beat.

Track fifteen, "Unbecome" features an soft, beautiful accordion-like synth, but is more dictated by its rhythms-- another shifting beat that leads the tone. Soft midtones round out the piece, making it feel simultaneously large and intricate. The restlessness is quieted here, and almost banished in "Silence is Full of Music", a track that opens with a regal, church-like appeal. Chanting synths with a pattering bass and percussion line strengthen the track's charms, and the continually evolving resonance throughout deepens and unifies the individual sounds.

Penultimate track "The White Box" marks a return to a more mechanical theme, and a dark bass is elevated by sweet, lilting bells. The track evolves into itself, maturing in a matter of minutes.

The final track, "Cimmeria" is disorienting but rewarding, if the listener can relax into the track's vocal samples, scattered patterns, and winding mechanisms. The tiny piano that haunts the listener's ear again and again are like final glimmering rays of light before day's end. It's a fitting close to an album that demands complete surrender and rapt attention. 

All in all: Resonant and gorgeous, this album is one that you can sink deeply into without any residual effects of unease-- instead, upon finish, you might find yourself feeling an energy and clarity lacking before. Listen for the beautiful piano and amazing accordion-like sounds. It's a wonderful album for sitting and staring out a window on a rainy day, or for providing a soundtrack to a task requiring solidity of mind and concentration. Not for pop-ulists, but definitely a must hear.

Available on Dubh's site, physical copies (cool vinyl look!) ₤10.00 or more, digital for ₤5.00 or more. See also Dubh's Facebook page.