- The Planet Mu artist's cinematic debut LP navigates several hip-hop styles with ease.
- A former Istanbul resident now living in London, Sami Baha has spent most of his life in two of the world's most teeming metropolises. Yet rather than bustling with the pace and pressure of city life, his instrumentals seem to creep around deserted places on tiptoeing beats, echoing with occasional snatches of melody and bass. It's music to lose yourself in through headphones as you navigate the city at night. Still, Baha's music hasn't always evaded stress. His debut EP, 2016's Mavericks, was produced amid an increasingly turbulent political climate in Turkey, and the oppressive atmosphere that impelled Baha to leave seeped in. There's also a feeling of dislocation in the undercurrent of his first full-length, Free For All, which was produced as Baha was struggling with the UK authorities over his right to remain.
That situation might be alluded to in the track title, "Limbo," whose sparse drums and low-end are typical of Free For All. That track's dramatic piano, choral samples and organ make it sound ominous without overcooking it. There's a sharpness and clarity to Baha's production that serves the vocal collaborations particularly well. "When The Sun's Gone" features cloud rapper Yung Lean murmuring in a flow as laconic as the track's rhythm. The Chicago footwork producer DJ Nate spits testosterone-drunk bars on "Thugs." By contrast, the UK drill artist Dimzy is frosty on "Discreet." Most interesting of all is "Ahl El M8na," where the Egyptian duo Dawsha and Abanob trade hyperactive verses in Arabic.
Baha's production skills are clear across Free For All. Fans of instrumental grime artists like Slackk will find much to admire in the austere yet precisely constructed "Aliens," whose sense of space is uncommonly sophisticated. Like many grime artists, Baha has been strongly inspired by video games. The title Free For All references multi-player games. A riff on "Gambit" has a boss-fight feel. (A track of his from 2014, "Chunk," sampled Mortal Kombat.) But the music is often more cinematic than 2D graphic. That's especially true of the sun-baked guitar line that closes "Cold Pursuit." It gives Free For All a poignant ending, and a sense of a new beginning.
トラックリスト01. Cash Rain
02. Discreet feat. Dimzy
03. Aliens
04. Gambit
05. Thugs feat. DJ Nate
06. Free For All
07. NAH
08. When The Sun's Gone feat. Yung Lean
09. Path Riot
10. Glory feat. Kufura
11. Ahl El M8na feat. Dawsha & Abanob
12. Limbo
13. Cold Pursuit