June 29 2017

Samurai Shin – The Prelude EP “reminiscent of an easy going world where people could simply be”

For a collection that opens with an unexpected and alternative intro, the music that follows is surprisingly smooth, undeniably accessible, and loaded with equal parts familiar and fresh vibes. The jazz cafe energy of the initial, full length track has the authentic warmth of any great instrumental composition designed to be enjoyed or designed to calm the manic rush of being human. Production wise the music has, again, a very authentic edge to it – the sound comes through as almost vintage, true to a simpler time, reminiscent of an easy going world where people could simply be.

As the collection progresses the vibe remains consistent and reliable, though the mood moves in various different directions as the riffs and musical ideas each take their turn under the spotlight. The thread throughout is that authentic, vibrant, creative production. Never simply writing songs, but creating an entire world of audio within which listeners can completely forget themselves for a while.

As the intro suggests, there’s much more to the music than the calming ambiance of instrumental trip-hop. Soon enough those oriental moments step back into focus, and as things evolve into the world of hip-hop the creativity reaches a new high, whilst still cleverly, effectively, holding on to that thread, that style, that voice that speaks throughout all of this. There’s a certain level of freshness to each new track that allows you to experience something unique, and yet all the while the energy continues to support that inner desire to escape into some other story, some other sequence or world – as great music often does.

The balance between the tracks with lyrics and those without is something that makes the collection quite intriguing. The rap vocal featured at certain points has a familiar warmth to it whenever it appears, the flow is calm and confident and extremely easy to listen to, yet when it falls away the musical space that replaces it does more than enough to fill that void, and yet again when it returns it feels as though it was the missing piece of the puzzle. It’s a strange effect but it’s a sign of masterful production and a very free attitude towards creativity and artistic expression.

There are certain instruments and samples featured throughout that maintain the familiarity, perhaps it’s those moments, those similar fragments of audio, combined with the general mellow energy and rhythm of the entire EP that make it all so casually powerful. In addition, the titles to each of the tracks builds upon the intrigue of the whole thing – the concepts are unpredictable and provocative, and due to the minimal presence of lyrics the ideas are left to be developed in the mind of the listener, and so to each his own experience and understanding.

All in all the music encapsulates the essence of the instrumental, classic jazz cafe sound, and at the same time incorporates this new, almost industrial sounding world of alternative beats and freshly polished sub-genres. With every passing moment there is something new as well as something newly recognisable – it’s a comforting combination.

There are a fair amount of tracks contained within the collection, but for what it’s worth so many of them seem painfully short. Perhaps it’s the awareness that this kind of music often does and rightfully can continue on among itself for hours and hours. As it is, it leaves you only wanting more, and it’s far better to have that effect on your audience than anything leaning in the opposite direction. There are some stand out moments throughout the EP, but to experience it in its entirety is to really get up close and personal with the creative and inspiring energy of the project as a singular work of art.

By Rebecca Cullen