Skip to main content

Review: Here's To Death by Telamonia


On reviewing Telamonia's track Salt In My Eyes, the lead single from the Here's To Death EP, I was taken aback by the abnormal soundscapes that were created, but revelled in the delightfully dark nature that was exposed from a simple trap beat structure. It made me eager to hear the EP from which it was taken, and how the track would mould itself into the context of the project. The one thing Salt In My Eyes perhaps didn't purvey so much was the personality and thematic sense that Telamonia has aimed for, but with Here's To Death this is resolved completely.

The EP maintains much of Telamonia's experimental and warped sonic palette, for the most part sounding as if Aphex Twin had decided to dabble in trap. However, what it also does is bring to the fore the dark lyrical themes of emotional pain, mental health issues and substance abuse. It approaches these topics in an often stark and very raw fashion, and it gives Telamonia's musical creations a whole other depth to them.

Beginning with the introductory track Drunk, the album immediately pulls you into it's twisted sonic world. The stereo panning walls of synthesiser, the pitch shifting voices and the creepy organs all conglomerate into a disturbing ambient beginning. It leads straight into Salt In My Eyes, which now feels almost radio-friendly in comparison. The psychedelic swirls and Earl Sweatshirt-esque musings stand out as a sumptuous first cut on the record.

Mania Depression is where things really take a turn; from the get-go it's far more immediate and the vocal is no longer obscured by effects. For the first time we really get an insight into Telamonia's personality and emotions, and the track provides two contrasting sides to this. The dramatic first half takes place over over huge electro synths and spacey beats. It's full of harshly delivered lines exploring the background to Telamonia's mental state in a way somewhat reminiscent of Eminem in his prime. The second movement is beautifully melodic and emotionally wrought in the way that Mac Miller used to do so well, with piano chords pushed up into distortion and Telamonia's vocal taking on a softer tone.

Bitch, I'm So Gone keeps the melancholia running with it's haunting Crystal Castles-esque synth lines and pulsing beats, but the production really sits as secondary to the vocals here. For the most part the flows follow the same path as Mania Depression, with a bounce and timbre that is by now familiar, though the words themselves are more subtle and metaphorical. Once again Telamonia throws things out with a final contorted flourish that leaves no ounce of light.

The title track begins with Telamonia exploring a more organic production, with shuffling drum kit beats and spliced guitar lines overlaid by a grizzly rhythmic vocal delivery. Soon though things go full on SOPHIE with a complete tangent into audacious hyperbass synths. It's brilliantly bonkers, and a potentially genius moment on this record, but I don't feel enough is done with it; the vocals and drum beat remain the same throughout this madness, while the track soon returns to it's opening salvo before closing out.

The final track Poltergeist is a terrifying mesh of dark psychedelic sounds and Telamonia's baritone drawl, and once again there is some deeper imagery involved in the lyrics. However there's also a certain despondency to the track, particularly in the doom laden final movement, and it ends the record in a particularly depressive way.

It's not always easy in any genre to get such personal and emotive lyrical themes to match the music they're set to, but it's particularly tricky when dealing with the natural energy of hip-hop. Telamonia has however done an excellent job of manipulating and reimagining the sounds of trap into a symbiosis with the lyrical themes of Here's To Death. Some of these ideas are truly fantastic, if not quite fully realised, and there is a huge amount of potential here for Telamonia to develop further. Here's To Death feels like a catharsis, both sonically and lyrically, and as he continues his musical journey, this EP will stand as a powerful piece of creativity from which Telamonia can build his sound.


Here's To Death is released May 21st 2021 on all streaming services.

You can listen to Telamonia's music on Spotify and Apple Music, and follow on Instagram and Facebook.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interview: Eneko Artola

In a relatively short time Eneko Artola has gone from an unknown figure with a passion for music to one of the most notable new producers in house and music today. His background is fascinating, and his rise is one that seems to be nowhere near it's peak yet. His music combines the kind of soulful, vocal-led house music popularised a few years ago by the likes of Duke Dumont, Disclosure and Swedish House Mafia, and through the latter half of the 2010s has developed into the Electro-Chill and Tropical House scenes. Eneko puts a distinctive French twist into his sound though, reminiscent of some of the French House artists like Cassius or Justice, and it's a sound which has helped him gain some remarkable traction in such a short time. Based in London, the 20 year old originally hails from the French area of the Basque Country; but his travels have taken him beyond Europe, spending time in Canada and China before coming to the UK. In the first part of this interview we talked abo...
1 comment
Read more

Review: Voodoo Macbeth by The Judex

In the modern age, garage rock is one of those genre tags which manages to be somewhat intangible yet also quite specific at the same time; you know the kind of sounds to expect, yet it's also quite hard to pinpoint exactly what defines those sounds as garage rock. Sure there's fuzzy punk rock guitars, relentlessly loud drums and booming rock'n'roll vocals, but then you could say that about any number of genres. The nature of garage rock is more in it's historical outlook, and the utilisation of influences from a bygone era. That doesn't mean garage rock should be a genre reserved specifically for a niche subculture though, because while there is a rich fandom around the style, the best garage rock bands are those who can, musically at least, transcend some of the clichés inherent in those vintage tropes. This is where we find Philadelphia natives The Judex, a four piece whose intense form of garage rock blends in elements from blues, soul, rockabilly and punk. ...
1 comment
Read more

Review: At The Boiling Point by Marshall Oakman

There's something about boogie-woogie in it's modern form that is incredibly joyous. The melting pot of blues, rock n roll and r'n'b that defines the style is infectious but, certainly for those of us in the UK at least, it's rarely heard outside of Jools Holland's TV show jams. And when you do hear it, it's rarely done as well as Marshall Oakman's At The Boiling Point, an instantly catchy and remarkably well composed track that hits every mark a great modern boogie-woogie track should. Marshall Oakman may not be a familiar name, but over his extensive career the New York based musician has forged an impressive path not only as a talented songwriter but also a tremendous performer, with a strong reputation across the Eastern US. For his latest single he has enlisted the help of fellow New Yorkers Kasim Sulton on bass, Liberty DeVitto on drums and Paul Pesco on guitar, all of whom come with fantastic experience and provide skilful playing on the track. At...
Post a Comment
Read more