The pressure for rising acts to make a statement in every single musical medium possible as they embark on their rise to prominence has been ever-present throughout the course of history and is still vividly existent today. Impressing on a single-by-single basis is one thing on its own, but it is something entirely different for a promising act to prove themselves in their first-ever project.
Building off of this sentiment even more, this situation becomes that much more daunting when one’s rise to prominence is dictated by their rapid release schedule of singles alone, and to burst on a given scene with as much force and talent alike this way, the logical next step would be to take up this task to create something far more ambitious.
That situation is exactly where one of the underground’s most recent prodigies in Roxas found himself before releasing his debut EP “Realm Of Light” just a short time ago. The Graveem1nd standout had already cemented his place as one of this year’s most in-demand talents to grace this already-crowded Internet-based scene with a flawless string of singles that all added something new to this limitless talent that we see now — but in desiring to take that next step towards his inevitable superstardom, he needed to try his hand at crafting together a conceptual project to call his own.
A release in this manner that would fall short in any given way would have been entirely excusable knowing just how recent Roxas has taken up his musical ventures, but those doubts have been rendered completely nonexistent given how impressive this EP is throughout each and every second of its runtime. Spanning four tracks that are all produced by different figures within this very scene, “Realm of Light” is a spectacular and reaffirming release from this can’t-miss entity.
The undeniably infectious “Pretend” leads the project off, and its sparkling and atmospheric production from the team of Kuru and Elias makes for a beat that is practically tailored for both Roxas himself as well as the accompanying presence of Saturn. Both of them deliver with all the grace in the world — each offering verses that are equally animated as they are somewhat understated, perfectly matching the tone of the instrumental that backs them up.
“Drop Off” follows this track up with yet another duo on production in 6houl and 4am, who essentially accomplish the exact same result as the previous two producers did on the project’s opener. Though this is the case, Roxas finds himself alone on this song, but in the process delivers an even more gripping performance with this track’s hook being as memorable as it is by itself.
Kasper Gem joins the fray over an Angelus-produced offering in “Talk,” which is easily the EP’s most involved and raucous track in its entirety. This is due almost exclusively to how both Roxas and Kasper match the intensity of the instrumental in a one-to-one correspondence, both flowing with ease over the richly dense and fast-paced beat. The two voices here also come through with the project’s most entertaining wordplay here, as their lyrics are just as rooted in confidence as they are in a carefree demeanor.
As the previously-released single “Malevolent” closes the project off, one can easily come to the conclusion that Roxas is certainly nothing of a “singles-only” artist. The way these four tracks bring out the best of what this all-encompassing figure stands for on his own, while also featuring a plethora of incorporating styles from the wide-cast of features on this album is nothing short of outstanding, and it adds all the weight in the world to the limitless future that this talent has in front of him.
https://soundcloud.com/roxas358/sets/realmoflight