R3b3l I drops a track that serves as a gentle reminder to slow down and float. His new release, “Carousel,” is no ordinary instrumental instead, it’s an emotional odyssey fuelled by memory, creativity, and the particular way in which he hears the world around him.
Born of a persistent piano phrase that stayed with him for days, “Carousel” takes that spark and spins it into something fuller, adding gentle violin strokes, soft kicks and handclap rhythms. The result is a soundscape that feels simultaneously buoyant and rooted, playful and exacting like the rhythm of a carousel going around and around. It’s music that’s alive, music that gets you stuck in a loop; invoking nostalgia desperately feels it does publishing us in the present.
What’s more amazing about the track is the lens it was written through. An Aspie, R3b3l I perceives sound in sharp and steady patterns, in both waking and dreaming, as a high-functioning autistic. He doesn’t fight this; he embraces it, transforming those ubiquitous melodies into fables we can all walk into. With “Carousel” he asks us to enter the world as he sees it: rich with detail, rhythm and beauty in repetition.
“Carousel” is a track that evokes the ease and deepness of lo-fi, jazz, and alternative instrumentals, one for anybody who loves both. It’s easy listening on the surface, but there are a whole lotta subtle textures beneath that surface if you want to dive in. R3b3l I creates music so much as he builds spaces. “Carousel” is one of those places an intimate, nostalgic ride that you’ll want to take again and again.
If anything, music discovery on a crowded streaming landscape benefits from authenticity. R3b3l I’s “Carousel” is exceptional because it moves between the personal and the universal with honesty and heart. For lo-fi jazz beatheads looking for a fresh voice on the instrumental block, this tells us that R3b3l I is one to watch, crafting a sound that is all his own.
Stream "Washington Singer" on Spotify
Connect with R3b3l I: Spotify
