Review – Noraj Cue shows his soul on his debut LP – Kobalt

Artist : Noraj Cue
Title : Kobalt LP
Label : Manual Music
Release : 14th September 2015
Genre : Progressive House/ Electronic/Techno

Dutch producer Noraj Cue aspires to break all sorts of musical boundaries with his new album on Paul Hazendonk’s imprint Manual Music, titled – “Kobalt”. This album sticks around with fifteen tracks that cover the spectrum of Electronic, ambient, Techno to Progressive House and should find enough devotees who will exult in this latest offering from the cutting edge musician.

“It’s the start of a new me. Of something I’ve never done before, making a debut album where I show my purest self, without feeling bound by some sort of style. But just make music and let the outcome be.” – Noraj Cue

Getting on with it “The End of the Beginning” starts the journey off in liquid fashion. Standing out in the rest of the proceedings are “Earth In Decay”, “Universal Love”, “Stubborn To The Bone”, “Die Andere Zaal”, that tout out innovative aquatic atmospheres with digital bubbles sputtering around the surface. The distinctive handiwork of Noraj’s soundscapes are revealed in the dominant synth waves and metallic textures inherent in these renditions.

Tracks such as “Blossom”, “The Year of the Exhausted Ox”, “Forever Brothers” and “Sleep State” mark out down tempo grooves and are overall airy and takes his work in an interesting new direction. Dropping down to “Krankenhouse” that released as a single recently, gets the thumbs up and ears flapping with its quirky, murky, indistinct depths and really the most substantial and meaty track in the album, one can sink teeth in to.

Finishing up are “Hoppa & Pompidom”, “Give Em What They Funk”, both of which guarantee stimulation and ‘move that booty’ fare, within their static charged sonic frequencies and frenetic pace, and lastly – “The Walk Back Home” goes in to familiar ambient territory with Piano meanderings written all over it. While most of the slowness in the album has the human side of the record down pat, there’s the sparse yet danceable stuff in it too, and should see a favorable response from all Noraj Cue fans.
Check it out, available on Beatport now!!

by Priya Sen

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