Space Discovery: Erik Evy
Welcome to our new Space Discovery!
Take a seat, grab a glass of wine, put your headphones or speakers on and enjoy. Today’s discovery is the new EP by ERIK EVY, a promising Chicago hip-hop artist. “Matinee” is a lo-fi/spoken poetry set of four songs meant to be listened to in a quiet space rather than at parties. The title of this EP, indeed, refers to the afternoon show before primetime, and it feels like it in its sounds too. “Matinee” is like reading someone’s diary or having someone whisper their inner thoughts in your ear with music in the background, yet this is not to say production here is irrelevant. Evy, in fact, plays with sounds in a quite intelligent way.
He tells us his most private story in what he calls his “writing exercise”, an EP that functions as a bridge between his old sounds and the new ones he wants to experiment with in the future; his spoken word singing style reminds us of Mac Miller with his confessional lyrics and calm, conversational tone, at times contrasted by a Kanye’s higher voice pitch and sped-up rhythm.
The classic lo-fi irregular rhythm is made even more unique by Evy’s spoken word, where the voice acquires its own rhythm, creating a pleasantly dissonant sound.
The first track, “Sunday Morning”, is a composition of thuddy kicks and snares with piano chords, and each song seems to finish with the initial sounds of the next one, making the transitions smooth and the connection between these songs as clear as day. Besides, each track seems to add a sound element that was absent in the previous one.
The second track “Intrinsic”, for instance, still carries the kick and snares and piano chords of the first one, but we can hear vocal samples in the beginning and a choir here and there, with synthesized voices towards the end.
“Bridges” then opens with an auto-tuned voice, as if it was a continuous of “Intrinsic”, with distorted voices hovering in the background throughout the song, while the tempo seems to speed up track by track too.
Finally, “Promises” starts with what sounds like organ music accompanied by an electronic voice, followed by Evy’s spoken word and culminating halfway in a pitch bending section where Evy’s tone switches too, with a peak and sped-up rhythm in his voice that makes it sound like one of Kanye’s sudden outbursts, to then go calm again and repeat the pattern towards the end, almost unpredictably.
What makes this EP stand out is its relatability. Erik Evy, indeed, doesn’t talk money or brag about a lavish lifestyle, but he says out loud what many think about our current obsession with social media, technology and other millennial issues. His lyrics are straight-forward and open-hearted, as in “Sunday Morning”, where he goes “I feel the need to post on socials”, or “TikTok tells me go outside and romanticise my life”, or one of our favourite lines: “to be able to upload a conscience to have a conversation with anyone in history/ would the best teachers live forever or would their conscience become outdated?”.
Overall, this EP is Erik Evy’s uploaded conscience, and we’re grateful for him sharing it with us in a build-up of sounds which culminate in a final track with church-like melodies and passionate vocals, in a perfect prelude to his primetime show, which we excitedly look forward to.
Welcome to Space Erik Evy!!
Congratulations on your new release! Briefly present yourself to our Space Travellers!
My name is Erik Evy, I am a hip hop artist from Chicago, IL in the United States. I dont want to box myself in but I pride myself in illustrating life. I want to be genuine and trusting with my music.
Each of us goes through this life of a human experience, and it is all about creating music that a wide variety of people can identify with.
What’s the story behind your latest release?
This latest EP, “Matinee” is a minimalist production with drums and pianos, basically some storytelling to set the stage and establish context from my other project in 2023. I describe transitioning into becoming an adult, some of my takes on the world right now, and the transition of truly believing in my music. Identity of self.
It’s titled “Matinee” because it serves as the afternoon show before the primetime event.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now it’s about creating as good of music as possible. Learning how to sing, mix, market myself, and network with other artists and people in my city! The goal is to make this my full time income where I can structure my full day around music.
I see myself staying an independent artist, but for more immediate plans. 2023 will have 1 maybe 2 big projects, I will release remixes and work with some of my inspirations in music!
If you had a time machine, in which era would you travel and which kind of music would you bring with you in the past?
I would travel to the future! A few hundred years in the future. As the world becomes more globalized it will be wonderful to see how cultures will merge.
