A new EP release from Naqoy gives off a vast and cinematic soundscape that brings with it as much color as it does edginess and tracks play out like chapters that you experience rather than listen to.
The Art Brut EP is coded in gritty but Lush textures that create these atmospheres that you can step in and out of at free will and this in itself allows you to escape into this record like no other which is something I've missed in music of all genres for quite some time.
The record boasts a lot of dark edges and surprises that lurk just beneath the surface but also has this certain kind of heart to it that lets you sort of get engulfed by everything and in the end, washed away with it as well.
This release brings together elements of natural and digital instrumentation that create textures that bounce off of each other but also mend together and this is a very upstanding approach to creating musical pieces and ends up coming through gracefully.
A lot about this record is quite beautiful and there is an emotional drive that exists within these songs between the sharpness, the thickness, the darkness, the edginess, and the almost dream-esque space.
One of the things I loved about this record is that you know it's created by someone who has an absolute love for their craft but also can hole themselves in and just get into an uber-creative zone where there is no outside world for that time.
This brings me back to that escapism I spoke of earlier. Because of that creation process the songs are so deepening and able to wrap themselves around you in such a unique fashion that once you step into this atmosphere you sort of don't want to leave it.
I love that blend of softness with roughness which pretty much all the songs comprise but this is part of its gracefulness and its beauty.
It's got an element of messiness but it also has these elements of arrangement and soundscape that let the songs feel like they're alive and breathing.
Each track is a different chapter and each chapter takes you to a different place altogether but it's up to the listener to experience those individually.
Having said that, this is most certainly repeat it's supposed to be listened to from beginning to end so that you can soak it all in properly, and believe me when I tell you, it is a great idea to do this so that you can forget about your own reality for a little while and step into this one.
I feel like certain kinds of music are meant for things like that and this release is a perfect example.
This has such a wondrous and almost fantastical combination of sounds throughout its course and an almost science-fiction undertone that has a way of reaching out and grabbing you.
Again, this is less an EP and more an experience and if you listen to the record with headphones on and just close your eyes throughout it you'll go to places you never thought you would.
This is freeing and takes elements of dark and light and brings them together so that you can drum up those emotional values and experiences for yourself.
This is something that can be different for everyone but again, that's part of the beauty of this record. Each person will experience it a little bit differently than the last.
If you have a little bit of free time and are one of those people with Minds that tend to not stop, then this record is perfect for you and I suggest putting on those headphones and closing your eyes, and letting this one swim around through the air that surrounds you.
It feels amazing.
Remember where you heard it first.