Entry 156 - Kennebec - Departure

 

What happens when you take a hip hop base, mix it with some jazz, add a splash of classical, and throw in a healthy dose of Japanese instrumentation and song writing? You get Departure.

I actually have to write this summary with the music off. Every time I listen to this album I can't concentrate on anything else except the music. It's that captivating.

Kennebec is a bit of a unique entry into the instrumental hip hop field. Sure jazz and eastern influences have been done to death within the genre. They have not been done like this.

As far as I can tell Departure is completely sample free. Every note on the piano, pan flute, violin, trumpet, saxophone, and guitar. This has two effects, the music fits together incredibly well. Sometimes hip hop will have a "chopped and screwed" feel to it where samples have been put together to create the songs... not so here.

The other major effect that the live instrumentation has on Departure is that it gives the album a soul. The guitar notes are allowed to decay and resonate out fully with each strum of the strings. The violins rich tones warm the room with their beautiful and lonely tones. And its here where we find the soul of Departure.

The album is draped in a veil of sorrowful beauty. As the album progresses themes of loneliness and longing begin to develop. It's an effect that gives me pause, makes me think about my situation in life. Am I where I want to be? Is there someone I haven't talked to in a while that would benefit from me reaching out? Simply put this is the kind of music I live for, the kind that makes me want to become a better person.