With just four tracks, Olivier St.Louis shows himself to be a top tier vocalist, writer, guitarist, and all around artist.
Black Music is 19 minutes long but it’s the best soul project I’ve heard all year. Hip Hop’s been blessed with potential classics flooding the market, but If we’re talking water, Soul’s been feeling like California. The genre hinges on a vocal sincerity that can’t be replicated or substituted which narrows the chance for artists to really find success. Simultaneously that requirement turns the genre into a bastion against exploitation.
It’s in this bastion that Olivier has carved in his name with a passion and flourish unparalleled. What strikes me is how well rounded of a soul artist Oliver has become, providing a mind bending falsetto, compelling song lyrics and concepts, and a variety in song structure. It’s the perfect formula for a long lasting Soul artist. When I listen to Black Music I can’t help my mind from wandering to thoughts of Gil Scott Heron, how he molded the Soul genre like a potter with clay. Olivier has a potential to do just that. The impact may not be as recognized with the decrease in Soul’s mainstream presence, but I sincerely believe Olivier can leave a lasting impression on the genre.
You can find his EP on iTunes
Art by your homie, Arthur Banach
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