"I never really liked you, I never really liked you anyway..."
"POSH BOYS CAN'T DO DRUGS" by South African singer songwriter / producer aboynamedblu and from his current sophomore EP “in a room with no floors” is drenched in nostalgia and dark atmospheres. On this collection of songs, the Cape Town artist effortlessly blends genres and lo-fi textures with lush sounds as his vocal aesthetic, full of character and artful emotions pulls you into his soundscapes. While "POSH BOYS CAN'T DO DRUGS" feels exquisitely washed in 80's vibes and 90's goth pop like a crush of bands like The Cure and Joy Division, you feel a tinge of grunge tone too and I felt that on "Anything You Like" as well. A song also that stirs in lounge punk amid the tempered grunge.
The track, "April" shows maybe the most tender side and the layers of vocals and ascending vocal melodies show aboynamedblu's ability to paint with surreal colors. While this track still feels divergent and even experimental it at it's core has the kind of emotional pop sense of a early Coldplay track. I feel a beautiful pop ballad sensibility on "Lucy Stay Awake" too with it's ramping up beauty and psychedelia invading what is essentially a piano based dark pop imagining. The discordant feral energy of "Snowy" is incredibly catchy heightened by the lo-fi beat and primary chord construction that brings me back to the early The Cure once again but doesn't stay there veering off into a dark abyss like something in a German punk club in 1978.
aboynamedblu has a propensity, an ability to blend so many genres and emotional textures and distil them into something fresh while bowing a purple hat to impactful musical moments in time and I felt this kind of distillation maybe the most on "Blue Side of The Moon". aboynamedblu's sound is enticing and his vocal character that feels like an amalgam of artists like Robert Smith, Ben Reed, Chris Martin and Damon Albarn elevates his sonic creations. Push play on the EP “in a room with no floors” and you will get utterly lost in a dreamy piece of surreal cinema.
The track, "April" shows maybe the most tender side and the layers of vocals and ascending vocal melodies show aboynamedblu's ability to paint with surreal colors. While this track still feels divergent and even experimental it at it's core has the kind of emotional pop sense of a early Coldplay track. I feel a beautiful pop ballad sensibility on "Lucy Stay Awake" too with it's ramping up beauty and psychedelia invading what is essentially a piano based dark pop imagining. The discordant feral energy of "Snowy" is incredibly catchy heightened by the lo-fi beat and primary chord construction that brings me back to the early The Cure once again but doesn't stay there veering off into a dark abyss like something in a German punk club in 1978.
aboynamedblu has a propensity, an ability to blend so many genres and emotional textures and distil them into something fresh while bowing a purple hat to impactful musical moments in time and I felt this kind of distillation maybe the most on "Blue Side of The Moon". aboynamedblu's sound is enticing and his vocal character that feels like an amalgam of artists like Robert Smith, Ben Reed, Chris Martin and Damon Albarn elevates his sonic creations. Push play on the EP “in a room with no floors” and you will get utterly lost in a dreamy piece of surreal cinema.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.instagram.com/aboynamedbluu/
aboynamedblu is a songwriter, singer and producer currently residing in Cape Town, South Africa where he does most of his writing & recording. His debut EP ‘ALONE ON MOST DAYS’ was released independently in April this year to much critical acclaim from global music blogs, all while developing a loyal online fan base.
“in a room with no floors”, Blu’s second release serves as a sequel to the first EP, completing the sentence to create - ‘ALONE ON MOST DAYS, in a room with no floors’. “in a room with no floors” expands upon the musical and lyrical foundation laid by the first EP, tackling themes of anxiety,
disillusionment, loss, isolation & drug addiction while incorporating elements of grunge, indie rock, punk, ballads & 80s new wave. “in a room with no floors” reflects Blu’s ever-growing musical palette, introducing a wider pool of musical influences into the world of aboynamedblu - his most expansive & genre-bending work to date.
The music is written, performed and produced by aboynamedblu, alongside close friend and co-producer Cat Gallent (Aqib Kazi) with additional production from Pascal Righini.
The Creative Process:
“To me this whole process was about being able to accept the parts of myself that I really grew to hate. It was the start of making music again without all the noise around me, and it turned out to be the place where I felt most comfortable speaking about the last few years. I also got back to working with people who I genuinely loved, and to me you can always tell the relationship between the people who were in the room when the music was made. “
Influences & Inspiration:
“A lot of the musical references on the record, came from an old CD collection that a friend from high school had given me. There was such a mix of music on there that we were starting off a drive with a Stevie Wonder record and finishing off with Nirvana and Joy Division. It gave me a chance to listen to albums again and really obsess about the artists behind the music. It also just made the industry seem smaller and less overwhelming and it freed me up to write from a place without watching what other people were putting out.”
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