Mr Key & Greenwood Sharps - 'Green & Gold'
We have been waiting since 2015 for a follow up to ‘Yesterdays Futures’ . After a 4 year wait Mr Key and Greenwood Sharps are ready to drop the follow up the Green & Gold EP.
As you would expect from the duo it was worth the wait.
This album picks up directly where Yesterdays Futures left off. You can hear from the production and lyricism that they spent their 4 year hiatus honing their craft.
From the get go Green & Gold feels like something quite special. It’s a concise and deliberate move away from the standard cliches and saturated market of the current hip hop scene. It really is like nothing out there at the moment so if you are one of those people who feels like everything sounds the same this is defiantly an album for you.
Structurally and aesthetically this is a big leap from their previous releases. It is always a pleasure to see artist evolve and you really do get the sense that the lads where aiming to push both the genre and their creativity. You can hear and see the intricacies and nuances woven into the fabric of this EP. It feels like every detail has been carefully considered from the deeper meaning behind the artworks colours to the overall ethos and vibe behind the album.
The Albums unifying theme throughout is a universal love for all things and all people. Which is echoed in the fractured melodic beats accompanied by drifting and spacious samples. Leaving enough room for the diverse and deep lyrics. The flow of which meanders through different tempos at times sounding more like spoken word than straight up Hip Hop.
Thats not to say that you won’t be able to nod along. I just feel that this album is aimed at those times when you want something deep and thought provoking. I can imagine listening to this with headphones on during a walk at night through a deserted London.
The album is accompanied by a short film helping to underpin The complex layering of visual ideas. With the title Green and Gold alluding to several sub textual concepts. The album was produced in accordance to the colours someone with Synesthetes (a person who sees sound) would experience when listing to this release. The album was collaborative and was joint produced in the artist home countries. As a result the green is also a reference to the lush English countryside whilst the gold a nod to the arid and hot Spanish countryside. This concept goes deeper and explores the symbiotic link between the gold sun and the green land the result of which is photosynthesis and to a larger extent life itself.
I would normally at this point mention stand out tracks but I feel like you should approach listing to Green & Gold in the same way you would a Pink Floyd album. Meaning it should be considered one long art piece rather than the emphasis being put on individual tracks. In other words clear your schedule and mind, kick back and leave some thinking space for this musical journey.
Green and Gold is out Nov 15th on the High Focus label.
Words - Owen Porter
