Manchester/San Francisco producer Finn combines sparse grime with soulful R&B to create a track that seems to want to move forward, but always ends up circling back on itself. The vocal samples always seem like they will finish out the lyric, yet they never do. The beat always seems like it will change, yet it never really does. But by keeping us in sweet anticipation, Finn manages to make something that’s always demands the listener’s attention. R’n’G, (rhythm & grime) — the sometimes labeled genre that mixes these two very different, but symbiotic genres — isolates vocals so we can really appreciate the natural beauty of them, while still giving us a barebones but very danceable beat. Finn is interested in mashing up UK and US styles, which serves both countries well. American made R&B usually straddles the line of being too emotional and virtuosic to the point of it becoming whiny, while UK grime can come across as flat or dead. “Keep Calling” wakes up the UK sound and humbles the US vocal. Local Action’s “promo,” simulates the bubbly tension this creates.
Finn’s Keep Calling EP is out July 7 via Local Action.
• Finn: https://soundcloud.com/finnmccorry
• Local Action Records: http://localactionrecords.bigcartel.com
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