Music: K, Le Maestro – Lab Sounds

London-based artist K, Le Maestro comes through with a brand new instrumental album titled Lab Sounds. Having followed him for a while now, I’ve been anticipating this release since he announced it. With a menacing, hard-hitting tone throughout, this album is one of the highlights of the year to me.

The album starts off with the menacing, eerie energy of “5-0,” which includes spooky synths and a thumping beat that brings such infectious energy. This continues with “Sinister,” which is, as the name suggests, exactly that. Those keys are looped effortlessly throughout the track, and the subtle bassline makes it an unnerving listen. As the album progresses, there are more and more soul-sampled tracks that bring emotive and mesmeric listens. “Meninha” is an example of this, with a stellar Brazilian sample that pierces through my headphones at the start, making way for a smooth, guitar and synth-heavy beat. “Blossoms” is a gorgeous R&B laden track with a gorgeous vocal sampled that is sampled beautifully over the smooth beat. The basslines on “Earl” are groovy, while tracks like “At Heaven’s Gates” and “Raw” absolutely slap. The funky tone of the last track “Coastin'” is a brilliant way to end such an engaging release.

Listen to K, Le Maestro’s excellent new album Lab Sounds below via Bandcamp and don’t forget to support! Released via Street Corner Music.