Austin’s Jony Shelby & Mad Nice collaborate to become DRK Sharlo this year. Changes brings through a melodic brightness and a simultaneously mellow vibe – not unlike the recent sound of the mainstream, but done in a fairly emotional, personal manner.
Music
The clever thing about this is that it takes that key vocal idea & initially uses it to represent a gentle, calming aura. Later on, the very same vocal part suddenly seems much darker & even slightly haunted. It’s a superb way to highlight the power of music & the great effect a change in key & atmospheric elements can have.
Where Michael Bublé has quite famously re-delivered this genre to the masses in recent years, he did so with a certain softness – Doug Ferony offers it up with weight and a seductively raspy finish.
By the latter half, the beat hits and the guitars take over – an atmospheric, organic ambiance rains down around you. It feels mellow yet also uplifting, as if you’re sitting peacefully on-board a fast train; the world speeding by just outside.
Dublin Rain is a totally hypnotic and inspiring audio soundscape that offers a brilliant hit of euphoria whenever you need it. Dobie’s catalogue to date never fails to amaze.
Not until you’ve let the music rain down on you in full – which it does, the sound of rain is consistent – not until then does it really release you from the fast pace of modern life and let you realise the stillness of being.
As the EP plays, the instrumentation consistently reflects the sentiments of each song. You get a definite sense of this being a songwriter, an artist, first and foremost – not confined by a single genre or rule.
Ashley Left Last Night is far from a musically intrusive song, but it gets to you – that bass-line, the high notes in the hook, the switch from the single word to the longer-form line afterwards – it weaves its way into your consciousness for sure
This EP pays a brilliant tribute to the days of real, thoughtful, gritty hip hop – the sort with a concept at its core, rather than simply a beat and a bottle of champagne.
Even with so much that changes, the song holds tight to its central sentiments & this enchantment & magic that is the core of the experience.
Contrast is utilized well throughout this project, so rather than the jazz vibe just flowing freely, there’s direction & intention – there are subtle moments of weight & change that keep you interested & engaged.
Lunar is not afraid to stop and start within a composition, to pause entirely, to redirect the listener at any given moment – so long as it’s an integral part of the concept and the journey.