So It Goes by South-East London based artist Ed Beaumont opens with some delicate harmonies, giving way to some jazzy drums, and lounge-y pianos and guitars that can easily evoke the kind of hotel lobby that features a grand piano just in case. Although I’d love to hear a section with a bit more structure to contrast the meandering and spread out vocals on the track, they are well performed and suit the instrumental well.
Beaty Rate’s bass house track Underground Artist is dance floor ready with a solid minimal bass line and a good progression of builds and drops. I enjoy the brass synth builds into the drop, and the mix of drums and percussive effects.
Alan Ward’s Picasso is filled with entendre, metaphor and punch line. I enjoy the clean mix of drums and organ that form the foundation of the instrumental. At only 2:04, Ward barely stops to take a breath delivering line after line in the same cadence that defies conventional song structure.
The name of our next artist T Eugenics first had me a bit on edge, until I saw the artist’s name is actually Eugene. Hailing from South Africa, the track is about the struggles of an underground artist. I really like the looping sample that forms the backdrop of this track, especially the light high piano trickles that come toward the ends of the phrase. The syncopated rhythm and layered dropped vocals on the chorus are great.
From Silicon Valley, Steve Shaz brings us the self-titled track, Shaz, an ethereal ambient track of gentle pads and minimal guitar and piano. The producer took the unusual approach of hard-panning two different chords into each ear, which gives the song a crunchy, pseudo-atonal, yet ethereal sound.