The world seems to have gone a bit R&B crazy recently, with indie kids swooning over the Weeknd's rich, slow and dark production style and warts and all lyrical style. I've never been much of a fan of the genre aside from the odd track with particularly robotic production (Aaliyah's 'Try Again', Brandy's 'What About Us?’) but something is definitely happening. Kanye's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy totally changed my perception of what he was capable of as an artist, the confessional lyrics laced with self-loathing made the album an uncomfortable one to listen to. It's a style Drake seems to have been running with - his last album Take Care is full of moody, slow tracks and his staggering hashtag-styled continuous rap bursts.
Ghost Mutt may not be caught up in the same rat hole of self-doubt as all of the above but Sweat Mode nevertheless points a way forward for R&B. This is a very brief EP at just 12 minutes but it features four short jams that play up the best thing about modern R&B: there's no need to hurry. These songs may be short but they aren't fast - you've just got four sensual workouts that meld vocal snatches with echoing bass and space. It's feels like a natural meeting point between electro, dub-step and R&B and I can't help but feel impressed.
Stream it above - it is definitely worth checking out and available as a pay what you want download from Donky Pitch (in other words free if you are tight).
BP x