With the number of amazing artists making music in the alternative R&B subgenre, there has never been a more exciting time than now to (re)discover R&B itself. Detroit, Michigan-native (originally hailing from Houston, Texas) Kambui Olushala Nefta Chui Moore makes music that is intense and introspective. His work is as interesting as some of the best alternative R&B music that one might come across.<\/p>\n
Though Chui-Moore\u2019s first ever release Confier<\/i> is just a five-song EP, it is powerful enough to persuade the listener to take his artistry very seriously. The title song and opening track is pretty much an indication of whether one is going to love or hate the EP. Slow and meditative, title cut \u201cConfier\u201d <\/i>has trip-hop eeriness. Chui-Moore\u2019s vocals remain calm, even as he sings the song\u2019s focal words \u201cAll you do is take from me\u201d while darkly atmospheric synths hover underneath the slowly churning hip-hop beats. \u201cConfier\u201d is the best track on this EP. It is absolutely beautiful but also deeply poignant, bearing a lot of pain.<\/p>\n
The ensuing \u201cFinal Words,\u201d which is equally brilliant, sounds less dark and is more comforting, with Chui-Moore channeling a cool Seal vibe with a soulful, jazzy, softly played piano section. But make no mistake: as Chui-Moore sings \u201cSome clouds don\u2019t go away \/ No peace is tied to man \/ Aren\u2019t you tired of living this way\u201d in his most tranquil voice, he is referring to mental health struggles, as he has publicly admitted to suffering from depression and has shown his commitment to bringing attention to this issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpace And Tempo\u201d is probably the most interesting song on Confier<\/i>. It\u2019s a song in two parts. The first part is dreamy and ethereal, featuring airy vocals and hushed atmospheric synths. The second part \u2013 which is totally different \u2013 is bleak and weird, with sinister beats and a bitter-sounding Chui-Moore. Although it is as cool as the first part, just when it seems to be building up to something, the song ends. The mere 3:09 track length seems just too short for a song that had the promise to offer much more, but ended up being somewhat of a disappointment because of how abrupt it is.<\/p>\n
The same goes for the two-minute long \u201cBefore I Let You Go.\u201d This one is also a very strange number with its claustrophobic music and Chui-Moore\u2019s ghostlike backing vocals. This experimental track shows a lot of potential to become something awesome and fresh. However, because of its short length, \u201cBefore I Let You Go\u201d seems more like an idea that has turned into somewhat of a jarring filler cut than a fully fleshed out song. <\/p>\n
This is also disappointing, because in an EP of just five songs, the last thing needed is a track that appears to be present just to fill some space. In this self-produced endeavor, which otherwise sounds strikingly polished and meticulously mixed, it\u2019s the missed opportunities like \u201cSpace And Tempo\u201d and \u201cBefore I Let You Go\u201d that show the need for better direction that could have come from an experienced album producer.<\/p>\n
The EP gets back on track with \u201cFor Healing,\u201d its final and most haunting cut. At the beginning, this song has an ethereal feel with its calming downtempo synths. Then the beats come in, transforming it into a serene electronica track, reminiscent of Bj\u00f6rk\u2019s music. \u201cFor Healing\u201d not only ends the disc on a high note but also shows that Chui-Moore\u2019s music is anything but stereotypical.<\/p>\n
Confier<\/i> has set pretty high expectations for Chui-Moore\u2019s full-length debut. Here\u2019s hoping he delivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":33251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10050],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-45060","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-kambui-chui-moore","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45060"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}