Style: Instrumental hip hop
Primary Emotions/Themes: Showin' all the kids how to create hip hop beats in the modern day, sitting at the bar sipping a drink while a jazz band plays in the background
Thoughts: Whenever I spin this album I immediately want to dim the lights, light up a cigar or cigarette, and then sip a drink. This album oozes the atmosphere you would find at a small jazz bar. A small piano in the corner. A beat up old drum set with a non functional bass pedal next to it. Maybe an abandoned microphone stand from an era long gone.
I know nothing of Kazumi Kenada's life, their other works, or really anything about them. I prefer it that way for an album like this. It lets the music speak for itself.
In the case of Hard Light that music speaks heavily in the language of Jazz and hip hop. This entire album is instrumental (except one vocal track towards the end) and shows how excellent jazz influenced hip hop can be when created with time and care. I don't know how much of the album is sampled vs. played live... or if it was played live then sampled and chopped up... I don't really care.
What I do care about is the end result. Hard Light excelles at ever single stage that it needs to. The piano and trumpet are the primary instruments used to convey the melodies on the album. They often play complimentary roles, with one backing off while the other takes center stage. Or they will play together but one will be the obvious lead.
Other times they are in head to head combat, one soloing while the other patiently awaits its turn to belt out its own solo. Even when the individual instruments are doing their respective solos the album is still a vibe. It never loses that lounge feeling.
Kazumi Kenada hits every single note on this that I need them to. There is nothing out of place on this album. Even some of the awkward solos are exactly what you would get in a live setting. Not everything is perfect, and that's what makes this perfect. Now if you'll excuse me I need to finish my old fashioned.
Written March 27th 2024
No comments:
Post a Comment