Kartell : a producer who mastered the art of a groovy, soul-infused house music. The French producer and famous protégé of the French label Roche Musique came back today with a long-awaited EP entitled “Daybreak”. The 6-track EP captures the essence of summer days as well as the cozy & warm weekends spent warm at home on winter days. And as if this wasn’t enough, a good amount of artists decided to join him and his characteristic bass lines, which overall makes for an EP to remember ! Listen below.
“Daybreak” starts off with sounds and melodies that we would not immediately associate with Kartell’s works. We are indeed greeted by the instrumental track “Silver Screen”, a track far from the house rhythms he has accustomed us to. That said, house music is not completely off the table as we see it mixed with the modern R&B of “All In”, on which the trending English rapper Che Lingo is featured.
“All In” is followed by “Time”, a track we shared in our last playlist. “Time” brings on a feminine voice, that of Qendrasa, which makes for a warm and sensual transition for the most soulful track of the album: “Stay”.
“Walking down this road,
Looking for a goldmine
But nothing keep me satisfied”
– Stay – Kartell feat. Tim Atlas
Tim Atlas, already known for his androgynous voice and his album “All Talk!” released in 2018, adds his voice to this track ; from the first verse, we understand that this is surely the best featuring of the EP. The warm voice of Tim Atlas mingles perfectly with a groovy, indie melody largely supported by the basslines of Kartell ; “Stay” matches the masterpieces of LA Priest and Rosie Lowe. “Stay” is without a doubt the most polished track of the EP, it’s hard not to listen to it on repeat after hearing it for the first time !
We end our music break of the day on what made Kartell famous in the first place : house music. This time, it is SG Lewis that we meet on “Crossing Paths”, a track that is both danceable and contemplative, and on which you can hear in the background the voices of a crowd, as if you were in the middle of a summer festival where music is blasted on the highest volume. “Crossing Paths” closes an EP that is filled with twists and turns and which will gently makes us wait until the arrival of sunny days and live shows.
Kartell took a step forward in his music career with this EP. Its production has been influenced by many events, from returning from a tour to the arrival of a child, and a pandemic that brought the entire music industry to a halt. These events had Kartell reflect a lot on his career, something he admits to not having done so far : he even mentioned being on “autopilot” until now. He says it himself : “Daybreak is actually a gateway EP, I’m coming out of an era which I lived 100% on a lot of tours and memorable moments, and which opens on to a wiser age.”. And this is enough to keep us alert on what will come out next for Kartell !
Kartell is to be found on all streaming platforms. You can also follow him on Instagram !
