Released: 31 December 2023

Genre: Hip-hop / Experimental

From: UK

Label: life is beautiful

Why you should listen: Seeing the life is beautiful collective / label put on an incredible live show back in November was one of the bigger surprises of the year, performance-wise. The collective have been slowly making noise with their experimental approach to music and performance, and I’m sure will continue to push boundaries this year. Isaiah Hull was one of the standout performers, with his emotive and expressive vocals and introspective and incredibly dense lyricism. Along with producer extraordinaire aloisius (and I say this because they’ve been creating some of the most beautiful and emotive soundscapes I’ve heard recently on other projects), they’ve released an exceptional new EP titled REACH. Atmospheric in tone, with gorgeous and incredibly poignant guitar leads from bianca scout and guitar leads, as well as additional vocals by Bung, the 16-minute project is an exceptional journey into the mind of Isaiah Hull’s mind, with emotive and expressive lyricism that’s colourful and beautiful throughout. Reflective and delving into his state of mind and mental health, Isaiah Hull’s poetic words (the track that’s 5-minutes in is exceptional), are powerful. REACH is a truly inspiring body of work that makes me want to get back to making and experimenting with new music. It’s a true testament to both Isaiah Hull and aloisius’ talents as artists, and I can’t wait to hear what they have coming next.

The project: