When two artists have chemistry, you can almost feel it in the music even if you don’t know it’s there. For those that are unfamiliar, Windsor’s Zillie Holiday and Datsunn have been making music together for quite some time. Their individual crafts have evolved side by side with one another, the result of countless sessions that have created a brotherly bond and an ever-progressing sound.
Today, the duo released Subtleties., a project that represents another stage on their collaborative evolution, showcasing a shared dedication to their respective crafts and a desire to push the boundaries of what could be a comfortable sweet-spot. When artists find something that works, many will tend to stick to it, but instead Zillie and Datsunn each challenge each other to think outside of the box. Holiday’s flows span from the introspective to the spiteful, the loving to the languished, giving him the opportunity to test out different ways of delivering his thoughts into the microphone. Datsunn’s production has always eluded simple characterization, and Subtleties. is no exception.
Track 7, “Soulution,” stands out in this sense; the beat eases in with a phased-out ambience, giving way to a subtly powerful snare pattern over atmospheric sampling, with Holiday spitting one of many thought-provoking lines one the project: “Can I get a little change / had to open up my range and my chakras / the Yin and Yang of life, that’s pain and the doctor.”
All in all, with this latest release on their very promising Raresounds imprint, Zillie Holiday and Datsunn prove that comfort doesn’t have to breed stagnation, rather, it can fuel untapped growth through mutual support and experimentation.
Listen to the project exclusively on Bandcamp below:
