[Review] Para One - Passion

Hey.

So, on tuesday I received this...



First thing first, Marble does not mess with people who buy their stuff. That translucid vinyl is simply gorgeous, they also include a CD edition of the album in the package which is a very nice touch. Hats off.

1. Ice Cold

A very gloomy, dark and smart way to open because this has absolutely nothing in common with what will follow.

2. Para One - Wake Me Up


Wake Me Up is, as stated, an awakening. It gives us the tone the album will have.

3. Para One - Every Little Thing (feat. Irfane and Teki Latex)


Alright so let's say the things as they are : Irfane + Teki Latex = WIN. A pretty
imple instrumental part but para one knows that there's no need to overdo things as long as you do them right, and it fits the vocals perfecly.

4. Para One - Vibrations followed by Poisoned Apples (Interlude)


Para explained that he wanted to do a track like he used to listen to in the 90's, some good hip hop and then an interlude with an awesome beat that makes you think "why the hell didn't they use it in the song ?!", he also stated that the said interlude at the end is in fact something he made quite a long time ago.
The whole thing works pretty well because the interlude is definitely great, perfect balance of smooth bass, piano and hip hop influence, makes you wish it would have lasted longer.

5. Para One - When The Night (feat. Jaw)


The song's begining is probably not the best thing on the album, but after that rather boring intro, you'll discovere a savant mix of funk and electro. For some reason I feel like there's a strong SebastiAn influence in here, maybe not, but at least it has a few similarities to me. Little fact I remember from an interview, this song samples Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus also sampled by Missy Elliott - Gossip Folks so if something sounds similar, it's because it is actually.



6. Para One - Sigmund


Animal Style (Mr Oizo remix)? That's the first thing that came to my mind, so I checked the track's name, turns out it obviously isn't. So, what about the track, except that it sounds as crazy as a good Mr Oizo song ? Well that's already a pretty good compliment I guess.

7. Love Ave

Already posted about this one, I can barely describe how much I find this song great, it has every little aspect of Para One I like, this is just ridiculous.

8. Para One - You


This track has a lot in common with the tracks he released alongside Bobmo and Surkin (aka Marble Players). It feels kind of like what Marble Players would be without Bobmo nor Surkin while not being Para One. I don't make sense? Yeah I know.

9. Albatros

The track that was missing on the album, something that will let your mind fly away for a few minutes


10. Lean On Me



That is the song that will define Passion for a lot of people I think. It captures the essence of Para One, precise beat, cheerful melody, smart vocal tweaking. One of, if not the, "feel good song" of the year. Oh and he also directed the music video.

11. Para One - The Talking Drums


No matter how hard you try, you can't put every bad memory in a closet, a few will eventually escape. That's what this song is, a few dark sounds that fled from their Ice Cold prison, only to give us a pretty melancholic song filled with oppressing pieces of noise.

12. Empire

What a great way to end this album, I don't know why, but I can only picture this song as the ending scene of a movie where you're not sure what's going to happen to the characters once the screen turns black.

==

So, what IS Passion ? Passion is the perfect mix of old and new, regular and weird, dark and joyful, silence and loudness. Every track is here for a reason, every little beat has been refined to make each sound on the album as meaningful as possible.

For those of you who want to know more.





Enjoy!
-Here