EVØLUT NINEFIVE is a London-based rapper on the verge of releasing a full-length album of original tracks entitled Sunset at Five Minutes To Nine. Love+Hate=Danger is the debut single from that project and introduces the sound and style of the artist in a pretty memorable way.
The two main building blocks that give this track its character and overall, fairly unique vibe, are the musical ambiance and the sound of the artist’s voice. The music, first of all, offers something like dreamlike trip-hop – mellow and entrancing, quietly walking out into the room until it completely envelops you. There’s a recognisable nature to the synth riffs that at first seem fairly non-distinctive – this rise and fall of these few notes quickly and quite surprisingly evolves to get caught in your mind.
Alongside of this is the artist’s voice – there’s passion in the sound, and the tone comes through as fairly whispered; intense but quietly so. Mostly it’s the vocal effect that gives it a certain level of flair. The production places the voice somewhere new, quite distant within the mix but not so much so that the lyrics aren’t audible. It actually feels like a refreshing approach when you consider the repetitive use of auto-tune in hip hop these days. This style of presentation gives the music a classic, perhaps early noughties UK rap vibe.
Once the sound has made itself familiar, which happens fairly swiftly, you then start to really notice and connect with the lyrics and the way the artist delivers them. As stated, there’s passion in the vocal performance, and this varies throughout depending on what the line or the moment requires. The subject matter is clearly something kept close at heart, falling heavy on the thought process, which means you witness this roller-coaster-like journey through personal turmoil to acceptance and then back again. The use of contrast within the performance adds dynamic variation to an otherwise smooth and simply hypnotic piece of music. EVØLUT NINEFIVE undoubtedly brings something unique and characterful to the scene. Likely a strong indication of what you can expect from the album.
Look out for the upcoming debut album Sunset at Five Minutes To Nine. Find out more here.
https://soundcloud.com/evolutninefive/lovehatedanger
