Now with their 4th EP release 'The Loop', producer Bankal and MC Miscellanious are looking to take things a little deeper, reflecting on their style, their hard work and and the growing success and acclaim that has come with each subsequent past release.
The pair waste no time, opening the EP with 'The Eponym', an introspective track in which Miscellanious dwells both on personal journey towards life as an artist and the growth of Chill Bump as an artistic and musical partnership. It's a sharply analytical track that flows with pride at the gratifying pay off of several years hard work, as well as the gratitude the pair feel to fans and journalists alike. It's an 'attention grabber' as Bankal's sharp vocal samples point out, a great opening and lead into the next track, 'Just a Sample'.
Straight away the second track's title harks back to the 'The Loop' EP as a whole, with Miscellanious remarking on the simplicity of finding success in Hip-Hop, the power and the limitations of what basically amounts to little more than ever-repeating audio loops or samples and the apathy that comes with the revelation of the music industry as a seemingly corresponding loop of money, success and disposable art/artists. Though the tone dips a little towards melancholy here, overall this is a track that swells with ego and pride, though perhaps replacing the optimism you'd expect with a certain future doubt. This feeling of uncertainty rolls over into 'Home Sweet Home', a track obsessed with dreaded things yet to come; the lows that will surely follow the highs, that same destructive power of success that has consumed many an artist before them. Chill Bump are slowly climbing their way to the top of a mountain of fame and fortune, but all they can see is the steep drop on the way down. However, despite the tone, this is yet another track that oozes confidence both through Bankal faultless production and Miscellanious' razor-sharp delivery. In this sense the whole album is somewhat of a musical and contextual oxymoron; the highest point of a commercial career, yet with all inspiration rooted in the fear of future failure and disappointment....
After all this deep introspection it's about that time for a breather in the form of the aptly named 'Pointerlude', a minute and fifty-two seconds of poignant instrumental and just enough time to let everything previous sink in.
From this point on contemplation and doubt are thrown aside in favor of confidence and good old fashioned balls as MC Miscellanious tears up 'Just a Sample pt.2' with all the aggression and lyrical force we've come to expect from him. He chooses to survive in the face of commercial failure and mortality, boldly declaring, 'defy death and die with no regrets'. In one fell swoop, the duo have swept melancholy aside and chosen to embrace to the fear, the chaos and destruction, driving onward into the final track, 'Self Destrukt', a thought out and fearless closer complete with a primed Kool G Rap sample that confidently links the duo with one of Hip-Hop's greats...and, in my mind, deservedly so.
Altogether 'The Loop' is a journey, a reflection on creation, success and failure, and just the kind of poetic brilliance we've come to expect from Chill Bump. The French duo have been working towards this release for some time and it seems like the hard work and dedication has truly payed off in what is their most accomplished and emotionally open work to date. Although this might not be their most accessible release, it's certainly a sign of the pair's ever increasing creativity maturity and most likely of more future success to come.
'The Loop' EP is, as with each previous Chill Bump release, is available for FREE or Name Your Price download via Bandcamp.
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