It’s interesting that just last week, as part of Red Bull’s ‘Hashtags’ series, they looked into the area of “beats”, instrumental music made by electronic producers. The main artists they looked at included beat-genius Flying Lotus, as well as TNGHT, Shlohmo and XXYYXX. It’s interesting because Chicago native Nick Zanca, better known by his stage name Mister Lies could fit perfectly into this group of artists. He is a producer of electronic beat-music, but that label isn’t enough to properly describe his sound. Mister Lies, like every other electronic producer work the sounds and samples their own way, which make for vastly different songs in the end. While Fly-Lo is known more for glitchy, jazz-inspired beats, others like Shlohmo focus more on an environmental and earthly approach to beats and samples. Mowgli, the newest effort from Mister Lies also utilizes sounds and samples in its own way, nodding towards sample-based producers like the ones above while still including his unique perspective, making for an engaging listen.
2012 saw the first release from Mister Lies, Hidden Neighbors a 4-song EP filled with ethereal atmospheres, nocturnal moods and deep emotion. With each track driven by a powerful mood, they instilled a feeling of emptiness while providing moments of light that shone through. Mowgli, on the other hand is a more optimistic and less contemplative record, one that still shows the beauty of ethereal electronic production while appealing to modern hip-hop producers at the same time. The first single to drop from the LP was “Align”, which immediately displayed a wider focus from Zanca with a powerful and driving bassline as the backbone. These tones are louder and more abrasive than the material on Mister Lies Hidden Neighbors EP, but they still contain depth and emotion just the same. Also present on this track, as well as the rest of the record is a strong focus on percussive samples. While great beats were present on Hidden Neighbours, the ones used on Mowgli are more prominent, which give the tracks more drive, some of which display a trap-rap influence. The track “Lupine”, aside from the drum-beat ricocheting between the left and right channels isn’t filled with many other instruments or samples, but still has a strong ethereal glow to it. Eventually, a slew of vocal samples begin to wash through the mix slowly growing like a worsening storm creating a surreal but very enjoyable listen.
The song “Ludlow” also utilizes a strong beat but it carries a depth of its own. By working as a two-part song with “Canaan” before it, “Ludlow” is a deep and powerful response to the chilling monologue that precedes it. By starting with a strong beat and only growing stronger as the song progresses it displays powerful emotional drive. By not introducing too many melodic elements, “Ludlow” is a blissful listen even with a busy drum-beat. “Hounded”, which features some production from New York duo Exitmusic is another busy song that proves that Zanca is ready to explore his sonic potential. The song is laid with a powerful boom-bap/borderline trap beat along with a collection of Aleksa Palladino’s swooning vocals and carries solid momentum from the get-go.
The album ender “Trustfalls” is easily one of the strongest and deepest singles off the record. While one of Mister Lies obvious strengths is his use of vocal samples to provoke emotion, “Trustfalls” makes use of few vocal samples throughout and still strikes a powerful sense of existentialism in just over 5 minutes. The song begins softly with a chopped choral sample and a quiet kick drum that gradually gets louder before each instrument introduces itself successively. This gradual saturation in the mix slowly increases its grip on you until a wailing horn sample plays at the end, providing what I find to be the most moving and emotive part of the record.
While Mister Lies has widened his focus on Mowgli to include elements of hip-hop and other electronic styles, there is still an innate sense of depth to all these songs. His Hidden Neighbours EP was bred from insomnia and homesickness, while Mowgli seems to come from a more sincere and complacent point of view, something that makes this record slightly more accessible. It is filled with excellently produced beats, strong vocal samples and powerful impressions, and while I could imagine Lil B, A$AP Rocky, or Main Attrakionz rapping over some of these beats they’re best left in a league of their own. Beat artists like Flying Lotus, Shlohmo and Mister Lies all work through the same mediums, but each display their own ideas and influences. Mowgli stands as another prime example of the ever-changing world of electronic production as well as a testament to the parallels apparent in these merging styles of music.
Buy Mowgli from Lefse Records