A new voice to electronic music; Limbo_Swan (also known as Aren Cederlind) presents his artistic merit singlehandedly on 2 Fast 2 Serious. Combining elements of RnB, hip-hop, ambient, and Dancehall, there is an eclectic color palette that Cederlind uses as paint on his canvas. Through his own ingenuity and integrity, his sonic paintings expands beyond into a world of wonders.
The tone of the ep is set with it’s not worth it. The less than a minute opening track sets our journey off uneasy. Messy percussion, unintelligible vocals, and sci-fi noises are coming from all corners. I feel like I’m a frog about to be dissected, or I’m being transported to the ufo on a trip towards its home planet. Already this record has engulfed me into its world building and intrigue.
now i know why reveals a more retrospective and contemplative chapter. I love the washy, ambient, guitars that drone out like the wind. The boom-bap drums that kick in later help flesh out the narrative as the listener gains composer. However, I do find the vocals a little faint and hard to make out at times. Although, I’ll admit that the line “I want to invest in you like Pinterest” put a smirk on my face. While I admire this track for being the most fleshed out, developed, and “traditional” of the collection, I unfortunately find the singing weak and has words that don’t hit properly (either because I can’t understand them or when I can make them out, they’re corny).
The feeling of approaching an imperial temple leers overhead on pray to die 3. Have I come face to face with a samurai master? Vocals reminiscent of The Weeknd set the ominous tone further followed by steady, but stern drums. Perhaps I’ve perfected the elegance of my martial arts to overcome this trap/alt-rnb challenger. The blood loss and adrenaline of this boss battle makes me yearn for a moment to catch my breath.
Luckily, the cloud-rap, sob-fest, truncate your thoughts gives me just that. I love the sad lyrics that self-reflect on lost and heartbreak. Feelings of nostalgia are made even stronger with the introduction of a muffled instrumental that sounds like it’s being fed through an antique gramophone. The spacious atmosphere accumulates into a mood of venting in a cave alone holding on to desperation. This tune carries all the production and swagger of Bladee from Drain gang and helps serve as a calm before the storm.
i want to hold you 5eva (which is my favorite track out of the six) has a very danceable house beat, 80s synth drum fills, bouncy bass lines, glossy string sounds, and calm vocals reminiscent once again of The Weeknd. The first half keeps this futuristic night club groove going like artificial gravity holding everything together. After a while though, the track flies off like a starship shooting out the atmosphere. The music gets dislocated without footing. The vocals morph into a birds mating call, and a pulse or alignment becomes harder and harder to find. These vibes shifts to polar opposites is a unique way to show chaos and unpredictability. Perhaps Cederlind can develop these ideas of contrast further for subsequent releases!
And lastly, we end full circle with the instrumental mar 26 2012. While not as jarring or as long as it’s not worth it (which itself was pretty short), I feel like this subdued display of guitar and drums goes back to the morphing concept from the previous track. Only now it’s on the scale of the entire ep. There calming timbres detox me out of my space journey as I adapt back into reality. After embarking on this sci-fi quest, a return to earth leads me home once again.
Overall, there are a lot of good textures and ideas on 2 fast 2 serious. However, the EP is not without its flaws. While they can be knitted together nicely to make a coherent story, I think these tracks concepts can be expanded on and/or find more cohesive transitions between tracks. While most of the singing is good, some spots can be rough around the edges. As it stands, it feels like a prototype for an ambitious follow-up. Despite these criticisms, Limbo_Swan has a lot of potential as a creative voice and is never afraid to take risks or think outside the box. I wish him and his music all the best for the next steps going forward.
6/10