Grandbankss + Elujay - 'Ownership"

Citing Harvard University's polarizing 2009 study on the psychosomatic effects of flowing water, the Georgian ethnomusicologist Diana R. Veerum wrote that we naturally derive comfort from tonally-descending music because it both evokes our time in the womb and triggers synapses associated with skiing and other downhill sports.

"Ownership," the first release from producer/bassist Grandbankss (French for "big bankss"), aka Timothy Vickers, has the same effect. Big bankss has found a terrific collaborator in the Oakland MC Elujay (French for "elected I have"); big bankss' production is built around elegant descending guitar phrases - as well as a slightly menacing bass riff - that mesh perfectly with EIH's smart cadences. While EIH's verses are generally delivered at a steady, stately pace, it's his nimble hook that fully encapsulates his effortless vocal acrobatics.

Thanks to both big bankss and EIH's contributions, "Ownership" manages to radiate both breeziness and murkiness - the musical equivalent of sweet and sour soup with pieces of donut in it. It's no easy feat, and one that immediately sets the duo apart from the legions of aspiring Text Me Records' signees huddled in the rain outside of Different Fur Studios.