July 20th, 2014
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
Rogue Cho Pa + Bedroom Joints by
Star Slinger
So I wanted to review some instrumental hip-hop today, but I only have EPs that were 10-15 minutes long from the same artist. So, I think it'd be better to count these two mini-reviews as one review. Darren Williams, better known as Star Slinger, is an instrumental hip-hop/chillwave artist from the UK. Fairly well-known in the mainstream, but I don't know that many people who listen to him. Anyway though, his work is pretty hit or miss. His collaboration with Teams is one of my favourite chillwave albums, but most of his other tracks didn't quite do it for me. Rogue Cho Pa and Bedroom Joints are his first two EPs - a combined time of around 25 minutes.
Let's start off with Rogue Cho Pa. Like I Do is pretty trippy but at the same time compelling, with its hypnotic beat and surreal vocal sample. It's pretty nice overall - it's nothing like Star Slinger has made. It's fun, it's catchy, it's chill. Solid track, though it was a little weak in the middle.
Hot Potato has an incredibly catchy instrumental, can't help but bob my head while I listen to this. However, the flaw comes from the vocal sample. I'm not quite sure what the vocal is, but it's a deep soul-esque one. Not too fond of that, especially in the latter half. It intrudes a bit too much, I wasn't quite sure what to focus on. Could only listen to one part of the track or the other, basically. Track's not bad, but some more consideration with the sample would've made it a lot better.
Do It Myself is a very relaxing instrumental, pictures almost reminiscent of the album cover. The vocal sample is dreamy enough to keep the track engaging throughout, which is great. It does get substantially worse though... there's actually samples from a pornographic video in the track. It appears halfway through the track and takes the spotlight for the rest of the track. Not that bad at first... then it's solely that one sample. Not sure why Star Slinger did that. It's not really funny, just kinda awkward more than anything else. It ruined such an excellent track too, really disappointed me. Oh well.
The rest of the EP is your typical chillwave with RnB/soul vocals. Some of the tracks work and become a slight hypnotising experience, like Rene Storm. However, there are some tracks that do miss the mark. They're not bad at all though, definitely has some better chillwave tracks than others. The only problem I have with this EP is that there's too little substance here. In addition to only having six tracks, there really isn't anything overly stunning here. None of the tracks here are bad sure, but they aren't stellar. Star Slinger has made far better tracks that are similar, like May I Walk With You. Mellow and jovial beat, amazing sample usage, just a thrill throughout its three minute lifespan. It helps that the original sample is great too - Life Without Buildings' The Leanover (recommended for anyone who's into indie rock). I can't quite say that any of the tracks in Rogue Cho Pa have really reached that level of enjoyment that May I Walk With You has achieved.
Overall, it's a decent EP. Definitely not one of Star Slinger's best, but he's rather hit or miss to begin with. Not quite varied, but the general sound works. I could just sit back and relax, riding the chillwave. Don't miss out on this work if you're into chillwave, I could imagine this appealing more to you than me. Maybe except for Do It Myself, that's pretty gross.
Album Highlights: Like I Do, Rene Storm
Track Average Rating: 3/5
Overall Rating: 6/10
As for Bedroom Joints, it is more varied than Rogue Cho Pa. Casanova's Jump Off has an instrumental is definitely a tinge bit more complex than Rogue Cho Pa, but not too different. I do feel that some of the trippy feeling is lost though - there's too much going on. Can't help but make sense of what's going on more than anything else. Vocal sample is a lot more grating too, nowhere as dreamy or catchy.
Slow 'N' Wet is a very atmospheric, almost house-esque track. There are no vocal samples, just the same melody throughout. While it's very simple, it's quite the engaging little track. Very relaxing, almost in an ambient techno way. The picture it creates is really pretty too, with colours like deep blue and black. It does get a little annoying towards the end by panning the sound multiple times, but it's not bad at all.
While it is Star Slinger's most ambitious work, I can't say that I really like it. He does lose that catchy/trippy sound that most of his works create. At some points, some of his works become grating. I couldn't stand Baby Mama at all, it was just too slapstick for me to like. The dubstep-influenced beat doesn't quite help either, it becomes really annoying to listen to after a while. When there's only three tracks in an EP, I do expect at least two of them to be good. There's only one good track here, and it's not really that great to begin with. Just pretty disappointed overall.
Don't have much else to talk about - it's just very underwhelming. While experimentation is fine, that doesn't mean that it has to be bad. Avoid this EP, listen to his other chillwave works instead. They create a far more coherent and engaging experience than this.
Album Highlights: Slow 'N' Wet
Track Average Rating: 2.33/5
Overall Rating: 4/10