Blue Soul Ten – ‘The Incredible Sound of Blue’ – flaunts a healthy balance of hip-hop nuanced deviation

Blue Soul Ten, has been on an upward swing from the moment he arrived in 2015 with his debut album ‘The Unspoken Warrior’, though he had already been on the scene behind the curtains for a number of years. Falling comfortably into the shoes of top line producers, with elements of soul, lounge, and jazz, each Blue Soul Ten record has upped the one that came before. His albums are otherworldly and can’t be easily labeled as one thing or another, which I believe is by BST’s design.

Arguably his most out there and forward-thinking record is his latest, ‘The Incredible Sound of Blue’. It is a culmination of everything that came before and things we’d yet to hear from him. It’s a game changer for BST. What the album does is explore the sonic world of Blue Soul Ten further, taking time to savor the producer’s compositional muscle and well curated rhythms, as he adds more hip-hop and rap flavors to his smooth blend of ingredients.

With features like Surron the 7^th, IAMIV, J Pad da Juggernaut, Kenilworth Katrina and Syauqi Destanika, the cast of impressive characters come together to make a dense and exciting record to get lost in.

The tracks here present another set of very visceral listening experiences. Rhythms you feel in your bones, and melodies appearing out of smooth waves of sound. Tight beats turn on a dime, while jazz fusion chords intertwine with hip hop sensibilities. BST’s head is filled with all of these things.

The cool and sultry sounds of ‘Intro’ open the proceedings, before ‘Opportunity’ ft. Surron the 7^th starts out in a wave of harmony, and descends into a stream of rapped verses and a swarming beat.

We then settle into the smooth groove of ‘Speaker’ ft. IAMIV on the mic. This is prime Blue Soul Ten. A real head bobber with that throbbing bass line that pushes you along. We now know that Blue Soul Ten makes some of the most intriguing hip hop/soul fusion hybrids out there.

Blue Soul Ten’s compositional creativity is great, but his constant evolution makes him truly remarkable. The rolling bass on ‘A.B.R.’ ft. J Pad da Juggernaut and the shimmering guitar and piano playing on ‘Can’t Stand The Rain’ ft. Kenilworth Katrina bring on his staggered beats and constant groove. ‘11:30’ ft. Surron the 7^th and Syauqi Destanika (on the hook) breaks new ground with a rap, neo-soul, and jazz orchestrations crossing paths.

‘The Incredible Sound of Blue’ flaunts a healthy balance of hip-hop nuanced deviation, as Blue Soul Ten elaborates on his musical ideas, spotlighting this album’s unprecedented instrumental cohesion.

This natural flow carries over to the super silky ‘Hustle’ ft. IAMIV and ‘Sunshine’ ft. Kenilworth Katrina, which set a tone of natural collaboration. Whether it’s the illustrious instrumental ambiance or the rapping feature, ‘One Shot’ ft. Surron the 7^th, also achieves incredible weight.

The funky soul of ‘Outro” closes the album, as BST dedicates the album, celebrates his guests, and pays homage to the hip-hop culture. Meticulous arrangements and strong vocal performances play roles of equal importance, pushing the artistic chops of all concerned on this album. Amazingly, ‘The Incredible Sound of Blue’ is Blue Soul Ten’s most consistently compelling work.

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