The ever-elusive Hohoman16 has produced a three-track project here, appropriately titled Holy Trinity, utilizing the vocal talents of three impressive additional artists. In short, it’s precisely the dreamlike, soul-quenching hit you’ve been searching for.
My advice is to listen in order, beginning with the brief but immediately beautiful Hashtag. At a mere minute and a half long, the warmth of the beat and the intoxicating nature of Aina Abdul’s voice weave an entrancing vibe around you without hesitation. It pours through with a sense of this being exactly what’s been missing from music – the simple soul of it, the calming, skillful presentation and the emotion combined. Nothing is overdone, nothing unnecessary steps forward – it’s minimalist but immense in the overall effect. It comes with a flicker of nostalgia from perhaps nineties soul ballads or jazz-cafe-crossover tracks, and that too is a totally welcomed element.
The whole EP has a definite smoothness to it and in fact, to listen in full is to get the feeling that this is all part of a single thought or feeling. There’s only six minutes to make your way through, but when it ends, you feel the loudness of that silent void quite intensely.
Obsessive follows the opener and presents a stunning hook melody. The two voices work gorgeously together, gentle and seductive but in a natural, effortless kind of way. The concept too captivates from the start, the honesty and the vulnerability reach out and connect in a heart-breaking manner. The soft sway of the beat and this simple hook – you know that I belong to you – the repetition, the additional details in the verses – simple but cleverly appealing once again – everything about this moment melts over you in an all-encompassing manner. Hohoman16 has crafted this with intent, from a central position, clearly – as a fan of the feeling, the music, before anything else – and this is undoubtedly what makes it work so well.
Break Me Off ends the journey with a slightly more jazz-like musical backdrop. The riffs have a similarly smooth set-up, but there’s a little more instrumental melody here alongside of the voices. As always, the beat is perfect – production wise this drives the movement of the piece in precisely the right way. Meanwhile, the track’s melody and the two voices add something more of a romantic aura to the song, opening up the project to a calmer, perhaps less melancholy vibe. It’s a questioning piece, as they all are – reflective of the self and the situations surrounding that. Here though there’s a sense of hope and togetherness that makes for a happier end to a surprisingly vast emotional few minutes.
Listen from the start, it’s a short journey and you won’t be disappointed. I’d expect this kind of music to crop up as the backbone to some new movie soundtrack in the near future – the quality and the heart of it work beautifully together. Find & follow hohoman16 on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. Visit their Website for more information.
