Cleveland-based independent artist Tony Frissore drops “Island Lantern Festival” tomorrow, February 17th, timed to coincide with the Lunar New Year. The track is built around the themes of the holiday, renewal, light, and togetherness, but approaches them through mood and texture rather than anything too on-the-nose. Frissore blends funk, groove, and global influences across his work, and this one sits in lo-fi and reggae territory with a cross-cultural feel that earns the Lunar New Year framing without leaning on spectacle.
Tony Frissore created a multi-layered and really bouncy groove inspired by classic trip-hop arrangements to deliver this laid-back festival feel. The addition of the reggae idiom, which is a guitar chord stab consistently on the offbeats, gives this beat the finishing touch that makes it stand out from contemporary mellow dance beats like this one. The production quality on this is exceptional, and the mixing on this sequence is perfect, creating a deep pocket for the kick pulse to come through.
There isn’t much more to say about “Island Lantern Festival” beyond the fact that it does exactly what it sets out to do. It’s a well-crafted piece of mood music that actually has a groove, which puts it ahead of most things in the lo-fi space. Worth adding to a late-night playlist.