Let me start off by saying I’m not the most active person in the world. I went on a two hour hike today and it left me with a feeling of exhaustion that even coffee couldn’t fix.
Prince Rama’s Infectious Energy
I sat down to check out what was going on in the world of music and started to stream Prince Rama’s new album, Xtreme Now. Within the first 10 seconds of the first track “Bahia”, I seem to instantly energize, and it even got my dog’s attention too. (Not an exaggeration, she was quite intrigued by the beginning of the tune.)
Prince Rama is based in Brooklyn, New York and consists of sisters Taraka and Nimai Larson. They are no strangers to the music world, as they have been dropping new music consistently since the beginning of 2008. Xtreme Now, which was released on March 4, has got to be their most exhilarating album to date.
“Bahia” starts out with what sounds to be a sample from the theme song of Ghostbusters. I’m already a fan of this track and anticipate finding myself singing this song in my head from time to time. The track takes more of an electronic turn at about the 0:35 mark and incorporates alternating feminine and deep masculine vocals. I can’t understand what they’re saying, but I’m singing along. (Trying to, at least.) The song seems to stay at a similar tempo throughout, which makes it very consistent but not boring in the least.
The fourth track from the album, “Slip Into Nevermore,” caught my attention because of my love for Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”. I know, I choose my songs based off of some strange reasoning. This track has a heavy implementation of female vocals, which again you can’t quite make out just from the first listen. Windpipes are incorporated at about the 1:10 mark, and I feel like I’m in a video game. (I’m looking at you, Zelda). This track does enough to catch your attention, but not quite enough to get you into “dancing around in a club” mode.
“Shitopia” is the closing track on Xtreme Now, and come on, do the Larson sisters know exactly how to title their songs to get your attention or what? The track starts out quite slow and mysterious, leading into a fade-in of sounds that I could only imagine hearing in a forest. When the lyrics start to kick in, I feel as though I am at Woodstock in the late ’60s, sitting around a bonfire watching a woman with a flower in her hair play guitar and sing.
This track has quite a different tempo than the others on the album, but it’s a much appreciated transition. The beginning gets you revved up and leaves you feeling electrified, and you get a slow and graceful descent to the end of the album. Overall, Prince Rama has created quite a gem with Xtreme Now, and I expect that we’ll continue to see more of them and their alluring work in the future.
Stream the album in full now on SoundCloud.
