- An alchemical collection of dub techno, bedroom torch songs rap from rising South London imprint Scenic Route.
- The best compilations are treasure troves of discovery, joining the dots between enigmatic figures, disparate scenes and complex emotions into one comprehensive narrative. Listening can feel like being brought in on something that feels like a local's-only secret—think of seminal classics like From Brussels With Love, or Efficient Space's epic Sky Girl, a tapestry of outsider pop and folk songs carefully put together by French selectors DJ Sundae & Julien Dechery. The Road Less Travelled Vol. 1 feels like another one of these magical collections, where bedroom production values soundtrack big moods on a series of intimate love songs from an adventurous cast of lesser-known characters and experimental artist—Spivak, System Olympia, Bianca Scout, Laura Groves—discovered across London and in farther-flung outposts around the world.
With the world becoming such a slow place for the last two years, Scenic Route heads Theo Fabunmi-Stone (AKA one half of 404 Eros, and a former RA staffer) and Jon Phonics had the time to knock heads and reach out to many of the artists on this release. Some connections sprouted from the internet while others were born from chance encounters at Salas, an Ethiopian wrap stand in Peckham. The compilation, which lands on intrepid young London label Scenic Route, is an introspective collection of music, running the gamut of torch songs, road music, UK rap, low slung chamber pop, R&B ballads and dub techno. It's all united by overarching themes of love, melancholy, grief and hope.
Ambient electronic textures and big lush chords set the scene on Maria Spivak's "I Will Turn My Insides Into Stone," as the Cypriot musician half-sings about "dreams filled with water and wine" over a thumping, Andy Stott-style backdrop. And Laura Groves' voice sounds nothing short of celestial on "Heaven Again," a disarmingly beautiful dream pop song with a glistening synth-bass melody that fades out like a slow-burning Balearic sunset.
Then there are spiritual road songs like "Wild Thang, Sweet Thang" from Baltimore artist Nourished By Time, an enchanting folk ballad composed with an epic horn and string ensemble. He sings nearly unintelligible lyrics through what sounds like a grimace, until the chorus, which he chants over and over until a hypnotic kind of semantic satiation sets in.
There are moments of bittersweet melancholy on tracks like Pelin Pelin's "DNA Of A Locksmith"—whose piano motifs, handclaps and effects-laden gospel vocals channel 808s & Heartbreak-era Kanye West—or Marshall Vincent's "On Me," a slow and skeletal R&B jam where the vocalist sounds strikingly like Sampha. Bianca Scout's wonderful "Private Party" is a cinematic blend of alternative pop with hand clap drum machines, looping effects and bittersweet lyrics ("Sometimes I get a feeling I don't know why / It's like my friend is leaving / I'm saying goodbye").
There's an education to this compilation too, like the spotlight shone on a group of disparate London rappers. Brian Nasty keeps things real on "Heart Emoji," a playful duet centered around deft lyrical prose about relationships and contemporary bullshit. There are alternative R&B and soul inspired tracks from Bubba Janko, Toby Cato and J.Caesar—the former's "Celebrity Handshakes" delivers a low-slung, LA-style blend of introspective R&B that brings to mind both Dâm-Funk and Connan Mockasin. A big electronic bassline and tongue-in-cheek lyrical anecdotes—"Oh so fake / Taking selfies with people that you hate" has a balmy effect, perfect for cruising with the windows down.
The clubbier tracks stand out like statement accessories on an otherwise practical outfit. There are all the hallmarks of the Basic Channel-school school dub techno on Etherfunck's "Pity Fishing"—a four-to-the-floor kick, layered snares, offbeat hats and slow, deep chords. Still, it has a meditative, always-on, pitter-patter effect, making it more of a bridge track than a dance floor anthem.
On the coldwave-inspired "So Kalt" from Klinkhammer, a smoldering German voice transports you to a different time and place—imagine an epic Talamanca Soundsystem remix of the Tears For Fears classic "Head Over Heels." Flickers of post-dubstep era production ring bells of nostalgia on Barkley Bandon's "Play With Me" with its cloudy-skies 2-step mood, while the frenetic drums and whooshing vocal samples on Lewi Boome's "Mints" are like a jolt of caffeine to the senses (even if the track clocks in at just 105 BPM).
The energy ebbs and flows, but all of these tracks feel designed for some kind of relaxed listening—a candlelit evening, a Sunday drive through the countryside or a night spent dancing at your cozy neighborhood bar. They complement and blend into one another like a perfectly paired martini. Bringing together and celebrating artists who are resonating on a similar wavelength is one thing. But the way Scenic Route marry moving music from artists and sounds across the world, underpinned by deep, honest emotive qualities, almost alchemical on The Road Less Travelled Vol. 1.