Mixing a little bit of afrobeat, R&B, traditional protest music, and pop/rock in a single doesn’t necessarily feel like a new idea, but that doesn’t make the cocktail Jarvis Smith and Rita Morar put together for the globe in “Save The World” any less exciting this October. Available in both single and music video formats, “Save The World” throws elements from all of the aforementioned genres into a melting pot of melodies that depends as much on texture and tonality in telling a story as it does traditional verses and harmonies. It’s a gem, to say the least, and it’s a profound sort of song from the underground that indie fans should check out right now.
Smith and Morar take a very streamlined approach to the production in this latest single, and while that doesn’t fit in with the minimalist/artsy trend that has been exploding in the underground recently, that could be why I like “Save The World” as much as I do. There’s nothing about this track, nor its video, that translates as being a stab at cultural acceptance; in other words, I feel like this is a good example of both musicians playing to their strengths (and leaving the egos out of the equation completely).
Compositionally, “Save The World” is frills-free but not so stripped of aesthetical varnish that it feels starkly void when the hook isn’t ripping into the audience. The concept behind this piece is steeped in the fundamentals of pop/rock and afrobeat the same, and while the execution has a western stylization to it, there’s nothing in the bones of this track that says it wasn’t meant to be heard at top volume in the company of friends. This isn’t introspective balladry; it’s a lively and genuine celebration of energy and protest, which is something we don’t see or hear enough of anymore.
Unfiltered beats might be the big fad in the states right now, but that isn’t impeding musicians like Jarvis Smith from adhering to a simplistic melodicism and making quality music as a result. There’s still a lot of room for growth here, but if “Save The World” can be a jumping-off point for this pair in the studio, I don’t think they’ll have a hard time finding an audience that rivals the following they’re building up in the underground at the moment. This probably won’t break them through to the mainstream just yet, but at the minimum, it should make such a goal a lot more attainable in the future.
