13th Hour

Once again it’s a blessing to be able to discover a brand new artist! One who got me intrigued as soon as I saw the title and album cover! That’s some mysterious shit which makes it all the more interesting! So, will this new discovery blow me away? Let’s find out together! This is a collaboration effort between Producer Owltree and MC -Mufasa RKG Firstly, the production by -Owltree on this one is insane. It makes me feel like I’m transported into David Bowie’s ‘Labyrinth’ the way the instrumentation flows through time, the way it wraps around your soul and grips on tight with it’s experimental ambiance that I honestly haven’t heard period. Not even JPEGMAFIA has pulled off a vibe this surreal and noise based! This feels like a nightmare come to life, you’re trapped in a room that’s covered in blood! Hearing voices left right and centre and your stuck there. No weapons, no support just you and the twisted world around you! I wish I could water down this review for you or try to normalise it but there’s just no way around it. This is a mind fuck of a record that will test your limits of what you can handle and honestly it’s high time we had an artist push the boundaries! This doesn’t feel like 10 seperate tracks but rather a spiral of a DMT high that you can’t come down from. The production is heavy, unpredictable, dark, noisy, brash and powerful in every sense of the word. But I’ve always been opened minded musically so this is right up my alley! I love the experimental feel to it, I love how it’s the most left field album I’ve reviewed this year and how the music remains unapologetic! Now onto the MC work where we have -Mufasa RKG who is another man I haven’t had experience with until now but fuck me does he bring it! He find a way to utilise this unprecedented production and turn it into sadistic bars of Black Gold. He brings an unnerving sense of calmness to the album. But not a relaxed and optimistic type but an unhinged, sounds like he’s on the verge of snapping typing delivery that makes you on edge for the entire 10 tracks. The best way I can describe it off the top of my head is listening to Michael Gira the lead frontman of Swans! That man doesn’t normally scream or shout but just his normal singing tone alone sends chills up the body Same scenario here, while he’s showcasing his incredible use of vocabulary, penmanship, surreal imagery and verbal queues. He’s also letting off this aura that is so powerful and menacing that it suits the chemistry of the instrumentals to a tee! He’s delivering the messages as perfectly as you can ask for, for this kind of experience and its honesty scary but awe inspiring at the same time! If the production is a nightmare, this man’s voice is the Jigaw to it. Never feeling safe or secure. Always looking over your shoulder in your search for safety! Again I’ve been dealing with albums like this since I was a teen so I get off being in these demented realms of music but for those that aren’t wow, are you in for a treat! All I can say is, listen at your own risk. It’s compelling to the very last second. It’s vibrant and the aesthetic is fantastic but the question is ‘can you handle the ride?’ Let me know in the comments!