The five-track EP which was recorded over one weekend at Fig Tree Pocket Studio, combines the techniques of soul, hip hop and groove with improvised lyrics.
“Our song-writing process was heavily improvised. Lyrically we wrote with a stream of consciousness approach, free-styling until we had gold,” the band said.
There certainly are some golden lines throughout the record, one of our favourites being the ‘Holy wine, holy water, holy shit I love your daughter’ musing from the end of Braindead (Slight Return). Probably best not to use this one on your partner’s parents though!
Musically, the opening track Funk Onions provides a fast, upbeat introduction to the band before leading into three slower, groove- and soul-infused pieces – Pleasantrees, Solitaire and Braindead (Slight Return).
The way the vocals float above the music in these three tracks is somewhat reminiscent of Hozier, while Gridlock ends the record with a bang, oozing an attitude over being stuck in traffic that one can easily envision Eminem rapping along to in his car.
This debut record demonstrates Quazi-Smith’s ability to transition between genres whilst maintaining a coherent sound. Basically, if Hozier and Eminem had a sonic love child, Quazi-Smith’s Quazmik-MuthaFunk would be it.
Give the record a spin here.
