Canadian DJ and producer Ryan Hemsworth gained popularity over the past three years with hit remixes of artists such as Kanye West, Lana Del Ray, Frank Ocean and A$AP Rocky. He has released his debut album “Guilt Trips” through Last Gang Records and it delves deeper into the introspective world of hip-hop, R&B and dance music. This LP shows how a producer can focus in on the production aspects of all these genres and still make listeners feel fulfilled when compared to a normal studio album with vocals.
Hemsworth’s music has been described as mixing the walls of many genres and incorporating aspects of Houston’s “Chopped and Screwed” electronic scene and Clams Casinos ethereal, groggy beats. In an interview with Pitchfork media this past year, he stated that he has tried to stay away from the “rap world” and wants to focus on making his music his own instead of having people guest on it and take away from his story. He does, however, have multiple tracks with guest vocalists such as Kitty Pryde, Sinead Harret, Lofty 305, Tinashe and Baths. He takes these little known artists and uses them to complement his production instead of having them control it, incorporating long pauses between their lines and keeping them soft spoken, barely hearable over his beats. This works well and allows the vocals to add an interesting dimension to the music but not take away any of the emotion in Hemworth’s production.
The first song “Small+Lost” brings a minimalist, thumping beat backed by soothing vocals from Sinead Harnett. It sets up the R&B influence that appears throughout the album. The next song, “Against a Wall” feautures a guest verse from Miami rapper, Lofty305. It incorporates strong mixing that keeps the beat from getting repetitive. The next track “Weird Life” sets a tone for the rest of the album. It relaxes the listeners incorporating a ‘90s “Chopped & Screwed” feel to it “Still Cold” describes a relationship in turmoil and displays a lot of emotion through the electronic beat. The production tells a story that smoothly weaves through your head. The track is shorter with a run-time of 2:20 minutes, but is one of the better songs on the album. The next four songs all lack vocals, but they are not to be missed. Hemsworth turns up the production a little and makes the album more personal and self-aware. The songs are indistinguishable but must be listened in this order to be effective. He uses trance-house inspired mixing to create a lonesome feel that encompasses the record. This segment in particular really hammers this notion down and allows for artistic interpretation from the listener.
The only problem with this section of songs is that the album gets a tad repetitive. The beats do not sound similar but there is a sentiment put forth from the production that makes it slightly bland. By the time “One For Me” rolls around, the vocals sound perfectly placed. Rihanna-copycat Tinashe moans over the track and sets up a smooth ending just like the beginning. The final song “Day/Night/Sleep System” drips with an ethereal sense of being. This song is reminiscent to the cloud-rap style that Main Attraktionz popularized in the past few years. Haleek Maul spits a smooth verse over the softly thumping beat. Kitty Pryde jumps onto the track with no hesitation and spits her rambling talk-rap that normally gets annoying, but on this track fits perfectly with Hemsworth’s sparse-sounding beats.
Hemsworth has delivered a strong debut album that drags a little but is overall very entertaining. It incorporates minimalist sounds to create a self-aware album unlike any other major-label release this year. It is a testament to Hemsworth that he is able to make the usual heartless sounds of electronic dance music sound so emotional. This first release is a strong step into an industry where Hemsworth should be a staple for a long time.
