Sounds like…

Ethereal trip-hop from around the world.

The review

Yaima have managed to navigate the juggling act of being world music, spiritual music and electro-acoustic music very well over the last near-decade. It gives them a lot of room to breathe and ‘Earth Trilogy – One’ is just that – a place for Yaima to breathe. Instead of creating rousing tribal or ethereal anthems, this EP chooses to sink into chillax beats and gentle synths or vocals. It is a change of pace that works well as an EP but may not be the best place to showcase the duos diverse sound.

‘Earth Trilogy – One’ works seamlessly as a story device as the songs all meld effortlessly into one another. ‘Nuclear’ has a trip-hop turned down low vibe that sets up the whole feel that follows after the hazy introduction of ‘Revolution’. The easy guitars, the drone synths, the soft vocals – even the worldly percussion works like a tiny set of cogs. It is beautifully layered to feel transcendent and it just works in a way that Yaima always delivers. A pulsating bassy kick drum and some more mysterious piano riffs and tuned percussion make ‘Intuition’ possibly my favourite track on the EP. It has a searching but a steadfast drive to it that makes it the meatiest track on the album sonically. I’m always drawn to the mystical tracks the most.

‘Reciprocity’, like ‘Nuclear’ beforehand, have already had acoustic versions released and here the guitars stay front and centre. It has a warm, electro-acoustic glide to the production that’s aided by the angelic hairs voice of Pepper Proud. It is full of peace and understanding as the layers of vocals, guitars and drums wash over you in a smudged night sky hue. The closing track ‘Spiral’ is the most bombastic in some ways as it features a flamenco strum in its steps and a pep in the rhythm. It is the romantic track of the album as it represents the cycles of life and the onwards marching of time. A passionate dance between life and death if you will.

The closing track also alludes to the vast diversity of Yaima’s wider repertoire. I really enjoyed ‘Earth Trilogy – One’ and new listeners wanting to explore chill out and world music colliding with audio snuggles should check this EP out. Just know that there is a vast world of rhythms, moods, states of minds and spirits out there that Yaima extend themselves out to. This is very much a safe haven called home.

Recommended track: Intuition

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