ALBUM REVIEW
Elias V - Tritone
Gothenburg, Sweden
ARTIST BACKGROUND
Elias V is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, rapper, and singer. Growing up around music and musicians, creating music has always been a part of his life. Producing since 2012 he says that his main influences include the likes of J Cole, Jon Bellion, Mac Miller, and Loyle Carner. Well known to his local music scene, he's played plenty of local gigs and as an opener for the event "Ortens Bästa Poet" (The best poet of the streets), with an audience of thousands. This album was recorded in the home studio of the artist, and partly at a professional studio.
REVIEW
The album titled 'Tritone' opens with the track 'Sailing Winds' a lo-fi hip-hop track with conscious lyrics. Contents of this product include a classic piano synth along with bells and a lo-fi percussion drum loop. Soulful reverb-enhanced vocals take you on a flight when contrasted with the low energy emotive lyrics of the rap vocals. 'Moving Up' brings guitars to the mix alongside a trap drum loop. Love it. There's a real old-school vibe, the bass groove weaves in between the guitar sample and the synths. Autotune is present on the vocals and they sound so smooth. You can hear the Mac Miller influence in Elias V's production style through the funk and jazz components and the laid-back vocals. 'Another Day has a rawness in its execution through acoustic guitar, you can hear the scratching of the guitar strings as the chords transition, I like the realness of that. This track is mainly acoustic guitar and vocals which is a really nice breakdown. A few RnB guitar solos come into the mix to bring you closer to the meaning behind his lyrics. 'Do Not Disturb' starts in a smooth Spanish guitar meets RnB fashion before coming in with a faster rap flow to the other tracks. It's great to hear the switch up in this artist's rap flow. 'See You' contains a distant acoustic piano behind the lyrics and drum loop. A real reflection on love and pain in the center of this piece. This artist really has several distinct sounds to his vocal style. Halfway through the album at Number 6 we have 'Bright Side' - possibly the most commercially viable track on the album thus far. The electric guitar solos are rooted in Soul and RnB to give real depth to this track in between vocals. 'Dusty' is a moving track, I got goosebumps listening to this one. There are certain things that just hit a nerve and this track did that to me. Full of trap soul vocal chops at the front of the mix along with the main vocals, we really get to hear the lyrical content in the track. The trap beat allows the rap vocals to ride the flow in a way that just hits differently. 'Mirror' brings the old-school RnB vibe to the center through organ synths in a unique blend of Hip-Hop, RnB, and Afrobeat-inspired production. 'Frontline' brings emo-rap guitar loops alongside a real Khalid-style overall production. The vocals are so good in this track and the words hit differently yet again. 'Not Coming Home' unionises indie rock with soul alongside all the hip-hop elements in this incredible creation. 'Fly' strips things back to acoustic piano before the vocals and beats join in to give a relatable and humbling production. Distorted trap soul vocal effects really add something different to this whole album. Again, the signature guitar solos of this artist are present again in this song. Closing the album with 'When The Sun Sets' we're whisked into the world of funk, gospel, RnB, and Soul in a world of pure emotion. This artist has some serious skill man. Ending with a spoken word sample we hear the message"you're not a failure, you're not. You're a wonderful, strong, intelligent youngster." which concludes this project with a whole load of reflection to be had.