A brand-new single release from Ian Crist has an amazing way of blending elements of indie-pop with hip-hop and R&B in a seamless fashion, and the whole track comes through with a dreamlike production and a silky-smooth flow that wraps itself around you and keeps you right where it wants to.
"Karma" is an addicting track right from the get-go as it wastes no time coming in with that aesthetic and the magic of it is in the fact that it has this warm undertone and flawless approach to lyrical phrasing all while delivering personality and character which may be the most important aspect of the entire thing.
The beat is widespread and subtle. It's laid back and has this almost classic flow to it, but all kinds of other instrumentation come into play and let this track breed a classic indie and dream pop soundscape while blending in the hip hop attributes.
How Ian is able to work out all these different lyrical approaches and phrasing within the different verses of the track is outstanding.
This is a song that's got color and hints of edginess and it's underbelly. There's a lot of honesty, and again, that personality really comes through heavily with this single.
This is what I consider to be the future of music. Ian is genre-bending at free will, which is something that puts this track in a genre all its own.
Now, I'm not one to pinpoint genres anyway, but this single showcases Ian's abilities as a songwriter and how he can put pieces of himself into his music without losing the notion that you haven't heard something quite like this before.
He's not exactly reinventing the wheel, but he's using different influences in the production and the wording to create something refreshing and very infectious.
His vocal performance is a huge part of this because the way he lays it out is so smooth and has a soul to it where it is swagger, but it's not a hard one. It's a subtle swagger that rolls with the aesthetic of the track like he's going into character depending on what the music sounds like.
This was an awesome single, and it really shows his presence as an artist and how he can put a lot of attention to detail into what he's doing musically but never loses that premise, character, or purpose.
I love the almost vintage record effect that sort of lurks beneath the surface of the track. Those guitars are essential to the song's flow.
Even the way his vocals were recorded feel distanced. There's a bit of a reverb effect on them, or he's standing a few feet from the microphone.
This is a great approach because it gives the feel of a one-on-one live performance in a strange way.
You can tell he put a lot of thought into his approach to singing this track and how he wanted his vocals to line up with the aesthetic of the music.
This was a really cool track that was recorded and written with fewer boundaries than you may be used to. Upon checking out this song, I took a deep dive into some of the artist's back catalog, which was great because he has a bunch of releases ranging from albums to EPs and singles.
What's great is that each of these showcases a different side to the artist and how he builds his music, but also to his personality.
I feel like there's a lot of honesty in plenty of his music, not just on the single.
Ian Crist is an artist to keep an eye on simply because he's making music with no walls built around it. He's putting it all out there, and I don't just mean lyrically. I mean musically as well.
Don't just take my word for it; listen to this track, and you'll see exactly what I mean. It has an allure to it. It's addicting, and when it's over, you almost have to listen to it again immediately.
This is a track you should listen to with headphones on because there are some amazing layers going on here that set the tone, and headphones will allow you to soak all of that properly.
Check this track out and then listen to some of his other releases because there is a ton to listen to, and it's a lot of fun starting with his album from 2020 and working your way through his catalog.
You can hear the evolution in his songwriting and production this way.
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