The last few weeks were all sorts of heartwarming and smile-drawing thanks to releases by many local artists, including Papa Soul and Tryangle Man.

If you’re not familiar with them, Papa Soul aka Majd Al-Alam is one of the founders of soul-stirring, hips-shaking, and happy-tired-legs-syndrome label Feedasoul Records. His new album The Art of High Chi is perfect for every mood and any time of day. Tryangle Man is a figure that landed on planet Earth a few years back and has been trying to lure us with his dreamy, transcending music ever since. His new album Rapid Eye Movements is another journey full of synths and sounds that awaits you.

We asked each of the two artists to review the other’s new release through a series of 5 questions. Here’s what they had to say:

Papa Soul reviews Tryangle Man’s Rapid Eye Movements

What is the overall arching emotion that you got from listening to the album?

Is melancholy even an emotion? 

What impressed you the most sonically, compositionally and technically in the production of the album? 

Sonically, his approach to synthesis is something that intrigues me. On a compositional level, I think we come from a bit of a different background… You can hear some of the classical schools coming into play within his writing and, although I would generally stay away from that, his ability to incorporate his knowledge of synthesis, his use of harmonic distortion and his overall ability to take something complex and minimalize it into a push-and-pull of emotions within his use of space is what really impressed me.

What’s your favorite track on the record and why? 

“Unheard Messages” would be my go-to, simply because of the chords—the Rhodes-esque element has always resonated with me. If I could add another one, the last track of the album “Dreaming of solitude” is a hidden gem. The pitch bend on the notes is like passing something through a tape and physically twisting it, or if you have your hands on any synth by Critter and Guittari, it gives you that distinct pitch modulation and backed by the natural sounds around the track really hits home with me and puts me in that same room with him.

How would you describe the album to someone who has not heard it yet?

Art is subjective and I think our ideas drift towards what we’re feeling when we’re taking in a piece of work that somebody puts out into the world. I think the backstory, looking at the titles and overall emotion of the album, there is a hidden love letter inside. Maybe not necessarily to a person, but a love letter nonetheless. I would encourage people to listen to it based on that fact alone because music is experienced differently by different people and isn’t necessarily the original idea that the artist was trying to portray. That is beautiful.

Try to guess what songs are on his most played playlist.

Knowing his interest in synthesis, I would imagine Four Tet, Nils Frahm, Jon Hopkins, and maybe some Burial. As for things outside of the Electronic world, I would imagine a shit-ton of Classical, and there’s a hint of Jazz inspiration somewhere.

Tryangle Man reviews Papa Soul’s The Art of High Chi

What is the overall arching emotion that you got from listening to the album?

There’s a sense of comfort, a cozy feeling that lets you know that your day is going to be just fine.  There are many emotions that flow through this album but a recurring one is fulfillment.  

What impressed you the most sonically, compositionally and technically in the production of the album? 

The sample manipulation is on point.  Everything is glued exceptionally well with some beautiful crackles and atmospheric noises.

What’s your favorite track on the record and why? 

“Where I go when alone” is simple, loopy and straight-forward.  Those chimes/wurly-ish sounds are just perfect. 

How would you describe the album to someone who has not heard it yet?

A hip-hoppy lo-fi album that will trick your ears into thinking they went to a spa retreat and got massaged all day long. So yeah, listen to the album. It’s good.

Try to guess what songs are on his most played playlist.

There might be a bit of Pink Floyd,  Boards of Canada, or A Tribe Called Quest.  Songs are too specific to guess.