Kenzo : Glass Box, Vol. 2
Kenzo
Glass Box, Vol. 2
Conjuring vivid scenes of manholes and overcoats, Glassbox Vol. 2 defies the brittle nature of its name. Unabashed and unconcerned with fragility, the project is reminiscent of a grimy city sprawl with streets ruled by crime. Just like the rumble of urban traffic, percussion samples, sirens, crunchy guitars and turntable scratches thrillingly weave in and out of its beatwork. With beat switches and surprising phases, this beat tape, despite being short, is one with high replayability.
Kenzo is an Indonesia-born, Singapore-based producer with two beat tapes out on Bandcamp, both offering a strong start to a promising personal discography. On top of having produced for GOK$’s experimental EP Mood Swings, Kenzo is also an instrumentalist that plays the bass and the guitar. This makes Glassbox Vol. 2 an exciting listen – its inclusion of live instrumentations these tracks a more deliberate feel. The stylistic and liberal use of different samples and live instruments gives way to a dynamic, constant rotation of interesting rhythmic ideas and motifs.
Kenzo understands how to engage listeners through subtlety – knowing when to let a beat breathe. This restrained approach allows tracks like “Set Up (Gangbusters)” to shine, where its many breaks and fills kept it continuously refreshing.
After a four-track stretch of hearty bumps from “Waiting For The Bus To Come” to “Crowd Work (Nanana)”, “I Feel” delivers the beat tape’s sole collab, featuring a guest verse from mary sue where the rapper spits of metaphysics and religion in his signature drawl. Despite not necessarily adding much in terms of narrative to the tape, sue’s deep, thick delivery skims well over the track’s tense two-chord beat, building upon the EP’s cinematic quality.
“Hold On” takes a break from the tape’s low-slung, heavy swing, as Kenzo shows off his masterful chops (both figuratively and literally) with high-pitched chipmunk soul samples. Unfortunately, it was the first track I thought of as a little stale – its build-ups could have been drawn out longer and vocal samples used more sparingly.
The beat tape caps off with “No Exit (What Tomorrow Brings)”, a busy Wu-Tang-esque track that returns to the maximalist sound of earlier tracks, capping off the project as one of this year’s delightful releases in hip-hop. Volume 3 or not, Kenzo’s penchant for creatively reimagined sounds will be one to watch out for.
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