It’s not every day you come across a truly production-driven album, but when you do, its sonic prisms have a polyrhythmic richness powered by sheer passion. Visions is the seed of Toronto’s producer-instrumentalist Mike Charuk. Aptly titled, Visions takes listeners on a soulful journey of love, trials, and loyalty. Dipping his musical paintbrush in strokes of R&B, rap, spoken word and soul, Mike Charuk’s debut album follows the trajectory of his life as a musician and the journeys of the artists he’s featured on the album.
Visions beautifully combines Mike's love for jazz and poetry with elegance. He describes the process behind the album, detailing: “I came up with the name Visions because God helped me release what I heard inside my mind and it really is an album with everyone's individual vision on each song. I gave everyone the freedom to sing about whatever they felt when they heard the music, and they also gave me the freedom to do what I felt musically.” Songs like “Ella”, featuring Ynhi, touch on motherhood and the type of unconditional love that powers her through her darkest days. Mike’s crisp and simplistic piano progressions give Ynhi an arena for her gentle but arresting vocals to shine. The album flows into the jazzy “Flight”, featuring singer-songwriter Mara. It is a soulfully sincere ode to a companion that Mara just can’t forsake. Mara’s vocals are sticky and consuming, and powerfully lead the song’s smooth crescendo.
The songs in Visions are morsels that mark the ups and downs that everyone faces along the journey of life. Mike’s meditative musical style is reflective of a voyager who has finally found his home thanks to a compass of spiritual wisdom and the company of age-old friends.
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