An enveloping hip-hop album from Callum Ford, Sluggish Progress melds intoxicating beats and vocal precision inside themes representing maturity’s challenges. Primarily based in Southend-on-Sea, England, Ford embraced a DIY strategy for the album’s artistic course of, which spanned three years within the making. He collaborated with producer and multi-instrumentalist Filip Przybyla, with the duo working in a home-based studio and embracing a spontaneous artistic output — the place many tracks first arose as freestyles. “We wished to take our time, benefit from the course of, and make one thing that felt actual,” Ford explains.
Opening observe “Do It Like This” consumes in its regular momentum — traversing from bass-y pulses right into a sturdy vocal declaration, exuding aspirations to make an album with these aforementioned “actual” qualities — which actually succeeds. “We abandon our ethical values for paying the value,” the vocals proceed, excelling into doses of guitar distortion. A dynamic manufacturing is on show straight away, echoing a basic hip-hop nostalgia alongside touches of rock and soul. Guitars play a distinguished position within the beat on “Laid Again (Freestyle)” as nicely. The one-minute flip grips with its “I’m the true deal!” bravado as swirling guitar work adorns the enthused vocal supply.
One other spotlight, “400 Levels” is without doubt one of the album’s extra pop-forward embraces — dazzling with its tender guitars and atmospheric synth tones, whereas the vocals shift seamlessly between hip-hop suaveness and extra expressive R&B soulfulness. “Supernova” is unbelievable as nicely, cautioning “don’t get too shut,” previous to a celebratory feeling — craving to “simply let me maintain ya,” inside a hooky radiance. Sluggish Progress is a dynamic, melodic success from Callum Ford.
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“Supernova” can also be featured within the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Rising Hip-Hop.
We found this launch by way of MusoSoup.