Showing posts with label underground. Show all posts
Showing posts with label underground. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Album Review: Grown Man Muzik by Huff Da Author

Huff Da Author, a musician, a producer, and a businessman.

Since the age of 5, he has been actively engaged in the genre of hip hop/rap and what might've started out as a fun, creative output as an adolescent has since been built into a reputable compendium of music. Along with making his own music, he has assisted artists such as Infamous Mobb, Wordsworth, Crime Luciano, and countless others.  A multi-instrumentalist, Huff also demonstrates to be proficient at both piano and bass guitar and on top of all of this, Huff seeks entrepreneurship. In 2013, he made a reality when he launched "Purple Empire Music Group, LLC" with Crime Luciano.




"Grown Man Muzik" is a 13 track album featuring the talents of Huff Da Author, Crime Luciano, and Michelle Graves. With almost 50 mins in length, there's a lot to be heard and as this whole album is dedicated to his grandfather who recently departed from this world...there's a lot to be appreciated.

"I'm Up" Ft. Crime Luciano, Michelle Graves



One of my favorites of the album, "I'm Up" breezes through like a late night stroll. It's chill, it's smooth, and the vocals provided by Michelle Graves add a soft, gentle touch to an otherwise dark, atmospheric audible experience. One of the lines, "I refuse to fall until my feet touch the ground," is interesting when taken out of context. It almost represents a balance between success and failure. You can be lifted, raised up on a plateau of success and when on that high you can experience great things. But when the moment has passed you need to be able to adjust back into reality and easily plant your feet on the ground, like a Boeing 777 after 12 hr flight. Genuinely, really enjoyed this one.

"Grown Man Shit"




While this song and its lyrics are reminiscent of modern rap and I can't truly relate to the words being spoken, there is a language that I can understand clearly: Production.

As the song starts, I can clearly hear and define which instruments belong to their respective frequency ranges. For example, the kick is well represented here with the sub hitting between 50 Hz and the rest of the layered kick having a steady drop around the 300 Hz range. The hi-hat triplets sit around 8 KHz - 12 KHz and looking through a spectrum analyzer, the vocals feel clean and prominent in the mix. However, I feel they could've been boosted a tad around the 5 KHz range to stand out a little more.

Instrument choice is really smooth for the most part, and to be honest, the only part that didn't jive for me was around 3:18 mins. That nasally instrument that appears - to me - distracts from the mix. Personally I feel a more natural instrument, whether it be a glass marimba or a solo violin, would've complimented the drums (Tabla?) used in that same spot. Other than that, this is well produced song and would definitely gain traction around various hip hop communities, be it online or sold in person.

"Small Town"



As the song opens up, I believe this is something we all experience at some point in time: Being in an environment, growing in that environment, and eventually having dreams or aspiring to leave said environment due to well, changing times. The opening pad represents an empty void that a lot of us feel, and the thoughts spoken after, are a constant reminder of what we hope to obtain in our delusions of grandeur. Fake people, fake places and the roaming madness in your subconscious telling you are meant for greater things shouldn't open up Pandora's Box to the plethora of negative emotions, it should be a sign for positive reinforcement.

I appreciate this song on many levels, mostly because through its storytelling, has managed to convey a sense of inspiration. As far as I'm concerned - whether I took it on a purely emotional standpoint, rather than a conventional production standpoint - should be the standout track of the album.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Album Review: Finding My Home by Postać


Hailing from Buffalo, NY, Postać debuts on the DjjD blog with his new album titled, "Finding My Home". Having 8 years of musical experience with various instruments, this artist released a 10 track collection of the deep, chilling tones of icy coolness. As I write this, it's snowing outside at a chilly 28 F, this album fits more than you might realize. It may not be the largest album I've ever reviewed, but man, the tracks really hit the spot for me.


"Finding My Home," really sets the foundation aesthetic for the whole album. A nice intro, complimented with a wide yet glassy pad which in turn introduces all of the floating, delicate melodies surrounding the percussion which, despite it's simple texture to the song...totally works in this case. Is your house an igloo? There's such a crystalline glow about this song, it's hard to describe but, imagine someone tapping on tuned, transparent wine tasting glasses and that's about as close as I can get to a description. This is great and it also, reminds me of another song, who is from a really good friend of mine. I could, see a collaboration happening.

 

Only getting better from there, the next track, "The Clock Keeps Ticking", really emphasizes the glassy feel from the first but somehow manages to represent a total change in structure and mixing. Now I could be wrong, but it feels like a lot of time when by between the production of the first track and the second one, there's a vast improvement here. Things feel much wider and thus...envelopes the listener more.

I took a few moments to ask Postac his background in music and ask if there was anything he'd like to say to his fans:

"Postac is from Buffalo New York.

Postac started in middle school as the creator, lead singer, and guitarist for the punk rock band Tripod Black. The band dissolved shortly after perusing a B.A. in Music Industry where Postac honed his musical skills in classical guitar, jazz, and classical composition.

Postac has been writing and composing music for a little over 8 years.

Greenday was the band that inspired Postac into music with their album American Idiot. Music from the 80's and 90's from the U.S. and Europe (having lived there for 3 years) has been a huge influence, so artist like Peter Shilling, Coldplay, Dido, Roysopp, to name a few have been heavy inflences. Also music from Kenai Kawai, Philip Glass, Baden Powell, and Charlie Parker have been inspiring and influential."

You know when I started this blog, I wanted to find music I could relate with. I wanted to find artists that could challenge my perception as a critic to find better qualities in instrumentation, arrangement, and whatever else. The goal? It'd be as much of a learning experience for me as well as a promotional advantage for whoever I'd be writing about. I'd be gaining new insights for different types of music and how artists ebb and flow across a digital or analog workstation while it might help them out to be exposed to the people I've met, who might read this blog.

Most times, it's a really easy process. Pure honesty here folks. You take a few tunes, you listen to them over and over until you're singing them in your head without help from speakers/headphones. You judge, you decide, you make several inquisitions and you piece together the results of what you've appreciated or disliked from your pros 'n cons chart.

This album, "Finding My Home" relates to those paragraphs in a way that well...it's kind of existential. Music is freeing, yet the more you travel down the path of a composer/producer, the more away from "home" it feels like. This album is definitely one of the best I've had the pleasure to listen to in 2015 so far. It's chilling, soothing, unique, and it provides classy production.

Thanks for reading!

-DjjD

I give this album a 9.3 out of 10

Links:

Homepage: http://www.postacmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/postacmusic
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/postacmusic
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/finding-my-home/id940120085
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Finding-My-Home-Postac/dp/B00PHPDWN0
Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/6oFCllEZfpU7VNG2wckxGX?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open
Jango: http://www.jango.com/stations/328408003?l=0