Nulabee takes a real mix of electronic palettes and smashes them together to make something part game music, part dance music, part chiptune and part synthasonic! It’s a really dynamic mix that hasn’t failed to get my blood bumping and is one of my favourite party composers I’ve found in 2016 by far.
Opener “First Light” takes all the above and wraps it into a three-minute ditty with wubwubs, glitched vocals, old skool guitar samples and really calming wooden glockenspiels. It’s mixed to perfection so they all blend seamlessly into each other but as compliments. This notion of phases of songs continues throughout as “Suspended Islands” is another one that refuses to sit still. Every four bars of the track beings something new and a switch up. I get the feeling Nulabee can’t sit still and his merging of instruments is able to switch from a ambience of mild worry to a bouncy Asian tinged uplifting dance track in a heartbeat. Even “Cloudseeding”, which is a slower and more subdued track is crammed to the eyeballs with sounds and glitchy moments – as a musician I really appreciate just how intricate each sample and melody is. My ears are well and truly alive.
“Afterglow” pays with on/off mechanics as an increasing more chiptune styled track surged into your ears but in a pulsating way so that you feel constantly under attack. It’s like the audio version of a heart palpitation but obviously…good! “The Fifth Season” is the dramatic track with massive tom drums and downbeat piano chords being carefully rolled out. It reminds me slightly of Oxenfree in the second half as a really happy brass sample joins in and it’s playing a miserable melody so the track switches mood to a clumsy yet slightly warped tone. It gets you suitably ready for the hyper closer “Wildcall” with chipmunk vocals and a bit of a reminder of some of what’s come beforehand – this time with everything turned right to maximum volume – and with a guitar solo!
I’m seriously impressed with Nulabee. There’s so much going on and it’s a fantastic merger of samples, live instruments and plenty of genres that it feels euphoric and unique. Give it a chance – it’ll worm its way into your ears for a long time.