Brainfeeder’s Azizi Gibson drops ‘Crown Violet’

Brainfeeder wordsmith and new addition to the team Azizi Gibson has generously shared a new track entitled ‘Crown Violet‘ on his Soundcloud page. Produced by NZ-based Kamandi, this track starts off small and ends H.U.G.E.

With a trap-infused downtempo feel, this song starts off reaaaaaal slow and chill. Textural sonic pleasure is rife in ‘Crown Violet’ in the form of reverb-soaked intermittent clicks, drops and taps. Imagine the tongue clicks from Drop It Like It’s Hot combined with gacked-out trap beats and you can start to get the picture. The production and vocals are shrouded in a cloudy haze that take pitched-down, stretched-out, f***ked-up beats to a new level. The ending outtro builds to a suspenseful climax that leaves the ear wanting more – at just over 2 minutes long, this is only a teaser of what is to come.

Gibson’s lyrics are self-deprecating and lighthearted and Kamandi’s production moulds perfectly around the words. However the weird / slightly boring rhythmic repetition of Gibson’s rhymes leaves something to be desired – I guess a lower level of lyrical energy is to be expected for such a hazed out, downtempo trap mix; but with such a huge drop, it does leave me wanting more.

It’s lucky the production carries the song so damn well or it wouldn’t be such a hit. And hopefully there will be more soon, with Gibson hinting at a new album release later in the year – so stay tuned. If Kamandi’s production on this is any indication of what’s to come, then Brainfeeder and Prehistoric Crew fans are in for a treat.

And while you’re at it, give some love to Kåm∆nd¡ for the excellent production on ‘Crown Violet’ (and check out Gifted/Suga Suga bootleg plus all the other goodness on his soundcloud!)

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Crate diggin: George Benson – This Masquerade (Leon Russell cover)

It’s throwback Thursday… or Saturday… either way, it’s definitely the right idea to pump up your speakers, pour yourself a drink and chuck on George Benson‘s cover of ‘This Masquerade‘. You will be transported back to 1976 with the sexy, slowed-down vibe and Benson’s smooth soprano voice. Benson was not well known for his vocals, but ‘This Masquerade’ was an early occurrence of that sultry voice – and what better way to showcase it but by operating in unison with the muted tones of the jazz guitar melody. The song then eventually settles into a slow, funky groove with Al Green-esque ballad style vocals lamenting about some unrequited love. It is not hard to see how ‘This Masquerade’ catapulted Benson and his 1976 album Breezin‘ into the stratosphere of the easy listening / R&B pop charts of the 1970s. It also set the mark for many more vocal/guitar hit releases from Benson, such as ‘Give Me The Night‘ and ‘Turn Your Love Around‘.

There’s something special about Benson’s style on this song. Arguably, it’s ‘easy’ for easy listening / ballad R&B songs to blend together (think Billy Ocean…) and it often becomes impossible to separate individuality from the heavily-populated library of overly cheesy, generic “soul” ballad music. But here lies an exception. So much soul is invested into the construction of the melody and harmony that it is difficult not to want to get up and dance around to George Benson. So disregard your innate aversion to cheesy 70s ballads and give ‘This Masquerade’ a listen…