Conceptz “Splash” feat. Bennie Blanco

Conceptz “Splash” feat. Bennie Blanco

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ghN53a_wQ

The clock strikes midnight, and Conceptz wants to know where you’re at. In this life, only a couple of things are certain; we’re all going to die someday, we’ve all got to eat, and we’re all compelled to be drawn towards each other in the most primal ways possible. Conceptz is confident that sexual sparks can be ignited if you open yourself up to the idea, and “Splash” saturates us in an aphrodisiac that is one part mammoth bassline and another part cocky self-awareness. It doesn’t matter if we used to be together and it didn’t work out. We made a connection and it fizzled? It’s back on tonight. We’re going for a dip in the ocean of sensuous sonic grooves that Conceptz is unleashing at us with ease.

“Splash” isn’t as vulgar as some of you might infer by its humorously literal title, instead letting us paint our own imagery of two becoming one inside our own dirty minds, although it should be said that Conceptz gives us a healthy nudge in the right direction from the jump. The backing track sparkles and drones on in the foreground, powerless to dull the sharp rhymes that Conceptz and Benny Blanco are trading back and forth. There’s nothing to stop the anticipation from building to a fever pitch and finally releasing in an elegantly appointed chorus that fades in and out of the ethers like steam rising from hot springs in the dead of winter. Does Conceptz realize the imaginative supremacy they wield? My guess is yes, considering how relaxed and composed they remain in the grit and grind of “Splash.”

The music starts to blend into the lyrics towards the latter half of this song, and if you’re not moving to the churning descent of its patterned beat by this point, I seriously have to question whether or not you have a pulse. “Splash” is as intoxicating as a designer drug and has a high that lasts ten times as long, demanding repeated listens from even the most hardcore of anti-rap music fan. We’re spellbound by the glittering tones and melodies lingering in the rearview mirror as we blaze through verse after verse, and trying to resist the glamour of “Splash” soon becomes understandably pointless.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of hip-hop. I like a lot of classic rap ala late 80’s political hip-hop and early 90’s G-funk, but most of the output from 21st century rappers usually leaves a lot to be desired for my personal pedigree of taste. 

Conceptz has made me reconsider whether or not its modern hip-hop that I dislike or just the artists that major labels have chosen to highlight above all others. If a song like “Splash” can stay on permanent rotation in my head for well over a week after first listening to it preparation for writing this review, then maybe there’s a chance that my perception has been askew this entire time. Whatever the case may be, anyone who digs hardcore beat should do themselves a favor and check out Conceptz at the soonest opportunity made available to them. “Splash” is the best rap song I’ve heard in a long time, and my money says that it’s probably better than anything most of you have listened to this year.

SHAZAM: https://www.shazam.com/track/431374861/splash-main-versionexplicit

Scottie Carlito

AV Super Sunshine - Time Bomb

AV Super Sunshine - Time Bomb

URL: https://www.avsupersunshine.com/

Dubbed as “New American Rock”, the latest single from Wisconsin’s AV Super Sunshine “Time Bomb” makes that case without ever sounding too ambitious or hyped too hard. Instead, the two mixes coming with this release, a club and radio DJ version respectively, each offer something unique for both casual listeners and more serious music fans. It’s frequently said there is something for everyone when you read music reviews and sometimes it’s true, but rarely is it more substantiated than it is in the hands of AV Super Sunshine than we’ve heard from similar acts. The club mix of “Time Bomb” is full of fury and energy, but there’s more musical strength we hear in this song than we might expect. It begins with a blast of synthesizer gradually intensifying until it erupts into a full on reflection of Michael Bradford’s contributions to the song. This famous DJ and producer has worked with AV Super Sunshine before and discerning listeners will hear why; the two artists possess a clear chemistry perks you up from the first.

CLUB MIX: https://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/29911618

RADIO DJ MIX: https://soundcloud.com/av-super-sunshine/time-bomb-radio-dj-mix

The more customary elements of a track are subverted to the electronic instrumentation, but never so much so that they come off as afterthoughts. AV’s lead vocal comes roaring out of the thick, yet bright, mix with assertiveness that commands your attention and the song’s backing vocals merge with the primary vocal in a raucous mashup that will get listeners involved. Other instruments are all but hidden, but they come through at important moments – both melody and guitar make their presence felt in flashes and those points in this five minute+ song tie the track to a needed musical foundation that keeps this mix from being just a ferocious electronic driven number.

The radio DJ mix of the song is bare bones, but equally effective in its own way. It has a lot more focus placed on the lead and backing vocals than we ever hear in the club mix, but it works especially well when placed in a clearer musical landscape like it is here. The synthesizers, of course, do have a strong presence in this version, but the guitar, piano, and drums gives the song a more natural feel than we ever hear in the earlier take on the song. It is, also, much shorter and features the sane fixed gaze on its musical goals. This is, nominally, more closer to the aforementioned label of “New American Rock”, but it still has a lot of the same daring we hear with the earlier mix. AV Super Sunshine’s “Time Bomb” definitely blows up in a big way during both versions and ranks as the best single yet from this exponentially improving rock/EDM master It’s one of the best songs in this style that’s been released in recent years and opens the door to an even more brilliant future

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INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/avsupersunshine/

Michael Crowder