Coming from a true lover of Downtempo and trip-hop, from Massive Attack to Aphex Twin, and from Nitin Sawhney to Underworld, I’m thrilled to say that Beat The Drum have that secret sauce going for them, and we can witness it first hand on ‘Black Sunset’, their latest release.
Beat The Drum are a London-based duo who operate from their secret HQ in the city’s outskirts. Composed of producers and songwriters Chris Calloway and Steve Murrell, Beat The Drum are also employing the services of classically trained British/Tamil singer Nisha Sivan on their latest output. ‘Black Sunset’ has nearly everything a trip-hop anthem needs. A stellar atmosphere, a distinctive and quite immersive production sound, and a rich, fulfilling mix that does a fantastic job at hypnosis.
Revolving around a single chord wrapped with a gigantic bass riff, ‘Black Sunset’ is grandiose and confident in its presentation. The mesmerizing chants of Nisha Sivan fill the atmosphere as cavernous pads and electronic elements swirl in the air. The brooding baritone voice sounds like a reassuring -or threatening- lull, and the piano lines that get introduced in the song’s latter half are nothing short of amazing, carrying that single chord into modal territories that take that song higher.
From the bass to the well-calculated vocals and from the slow tempo to the gorgeous instrumental choices, ‘Black Sunset’ is a song that excels on so many levels.