The LA-based artist Jewel Tones has been carefully crafting his sound over the past year. Today, EARMILK is excited to debut his latest project and EP Tides.
Tides is an organic contrast of melodic techno with both hip-hop and indie vocals, along with a dose of gritty synths, insanely dark basslines, and the occasional touch of airy and atmospheric tones. Jewel Tones refreshingly captures a lyrically entertaining side of techno that still has bounce to it, which borders the edge of techno and house, but is far from tech-house.
The first track of the EP immediately catches your ear, featuring artist Rakeem Miles (pictured on left above). “New Estate” begins with a low-tempo techno build, but is thrown off track by a surprisingly sassy hip-hop vocal gliding across the bassline. As we go further, a ripping synth enters, the drums build, and we float off into an atmospheric abyss only to be brought back into a deeper and more intense section of the track.
“The Water” has an iconically gritty techno build with trashing synthesizers and an impressive but unforeseen indie vocal accompaniment, which just so happens to be Jewel Tones own voice. This track takes you into realm of music that bends genres beyond their own comprehension.
The last track, “Requiem,” has a deeper, more aquatically melodic theme, with heavy sustain on airy synths that bend in and out of gloomier, grainier, more ominously suspicious resonances. The track begins to build into an invigorating symbiosis of thumping techno that fades into a dark turbine of sonic curiosity.
Jewel Tones will be playing alongside Mija at her FK A Genre tour down at Spin Nightclub in San Diego on Saturday, November 25th. You can grab tickets here.
Connect with Jewel Tones: Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud
