The first EP I'm gonna talk about is Genesis Series by Zhu, a 27-year-old multi-instrumentalist. Not much is known about Zhu, as he chose to remain anonymous until mid-2014. I personally am a fan of artists using pseudonyms and hiding their identity, I find when an artist makes their private life common knowledge, it takes the mystery away from the music, which is a vital part of Zhu's music. Genesis Series was released on the 6th of November 2015, and from even the first listen, I was hooked.
The first track on the EP is 'Automatic' featuring Alunageorge. The track starts with Aluna Francis singing a haunting melody, with a thumping synth bass played underneath which creates a good sense of contrast. The track continues with verses from Zhu and George Reid, who both seem to be using voice-changes to reach that lower octave that fits really well with Aluna's sharp melody. The track ends with a sultry sax solo that is just as smooth as butter.
The next track is 'As Crazy As It Is' featuring A-Trak and Keznamdi. This is my personal favourite from the EP, it was the first song I'd heard from it and if it wasn't for this song, I wouldn't have listening to the whole thing, so shoutout to this song for being a banger. The song starts with a bass-heavy beat, with a dreamy delay-ridden guitar track played behind it. The stand out feature that makes this song great is the verses and choruses sung by Jamaican artist Keznamdi, gives a very Caribbean feel to an otherwise American pop song. There's a lot of texture in the instrumentals of this song, there's a LOT going on. There's the synth bass, the synth lead that pops in every once in a while, the ethereal guitar playing and some might say there's way too much disk-scratching going on this cut, but I'm gonna be honest, I rate it.
The third song is 'Testarossa Music', a very stripped-back, sexy, guitar-heavy track that reeks of longing and passion. The song kicks off with a brain-melting, psychedelic guitar solo that quickly cuts to a very satisfying synth bass-line. Some falsetto vocals by Maryland-based singer Gallant which complement Zhu's perfectly. The delay'd/reverb'd guitar continues in segments throughout the song. It's a very barebones track, with few instruments being incorporated, but it works so WELL, the vocals and lyrics give me a a very Weeknd'y vibe.
Next song is 'Hold Up, Wait a Minute' featuring rappers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Trombone Shorty. The song starts with falsetto and baritone voice-changer vocals singing the lines 'Hold up, wait a minute' that go excellently well together, which then suddenly cuts to a very funky palm-muted guitar riff which is rapped over by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, who delivers a very smooth verse that reminds me an awful lot of old-school Xzibit (think 'Beware Of Us'). Zhu delivers another falsetto verse that is absolute music to my ears and Trombone Shorty disappoints with a sub-par, Pharell-esque verse that really doesn't fit that well in the song. Zhu's vocals in this track definitely give away the hint of a Michael Jackson influence. This cut is undoubtedly the most upbeat of the after-midnight EP.
Next track is 'Modern Conversation' which starts with a few synth chords and riffs that gradually get louder and louder before they give way to a very 80's neon-pop synth lead, which eventually cuts away to what I believe are Zhu's only clean vocals of the EP. I think this is definitely the most emotional song of the record. The song ends with a shredding, sultry guitar solo that, in my opinion brings the track from a six to a solid eight. Absolutely wonderful, never underestimate the power of a good solo.
The last track of the EP is a bonus track called 'Working For It' which features Skrillex and is definitely the 'club' song of the record. The intro builds up with your typical falsetto Zhu vocals and guitar slides that suddenly drop into a dutty, bass-y wobble that is extremely satisfying, and is clearly Skrillex's contribution. Not much else to say about this song other than it's a massive banger.
So there we have it, my first album done and dusted, and I'm gonna give it a solid nine. A very, very good EP that was the soundtrack to my summer in 2015. I'll be sure to keep making posts talking about good music. Peace.
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