It's a shame that we so often lose sight of the elegance to be had in hip-hop. We've come to expect certain qualities from the genre, such monotonous audio aspects as booming bass and sonorous percussive slaps, that we fail to acknowledge (or at least appreciate as much as we should), the dynamics of the particular sound style; it's as if we're content with the ubiquity. There will always be pioneers to steer their respective fields of artistry into new and exciting directions, though, as French producer Kid Atlaas so excellently indicates. And with his latest offering, we see just that. "Winter Is Coming" tampers with what perspective you may have had pertinent to the genre, electing to forgo the aforementioned characteristics for a more endeavoring, and still entirely enthralling, sonic ambiance. Immediately within the instrumental we're graced with a harp (a fucking harp), and, amazingly enough, the effort only escalates in suavity from there. An abundance of synthetic "flips" and "spins" that reminisce of a kazoo on crack (use your imagination) follow alongside a smattering of other instruments that enter the poignant picture of sound, and we're left with an adventuring avenue of acoustical hip-hop instrumentation befit for what wandering ears venture upon them. While you engage yourself in the alluring atmosphere below, make sure to keep in mind Kid Atlaas' debut effort with French label Cosmonostro, an EP entitled Fragments, set for release October 29. It's sure to be every bit as attractive as the efforts on this here track.
Kid Atlaas