Album Review: Mura Masa - ‘Demon Time’
Unapologetically uncoordinated, Mura Masa’s Demon Time doesn't fall under the label of any one genre. A somewhat ‘genre-less’ project, painting with fine brush strokes through various collaborations and ever-progressive sound.
Bold by nature, Alex Crossan’s newest project is constantly bringing forth different songs from track to track. Following the introductory title song ‘Demon Time’ featuring BAYLI, the second track of the album ‘Bbycakes’ remixes an old-school UK classic, throwing Lil Uzi Vert, Shygirl and PinkPanthress into the mix. The US/UK collaboration paying homage to a UK garage classic and fusing it with hip-hop and hyper pop embodies everything Crossan appears to be doing with the creation of this project. Energetic and playful, Uzi’s traditional flow supplemented by PinkPanthress’ signature sound lay the foundations for an album in which the primary purpose is pure enjoyment.
Crossan himself has highlighted his desire to move away from traditional projects, Demon time itself demonstrates not only his versatility but in some cases his ability to help other artists find new dimensions. Nigerian Afrobeats artist Midas the Jagaban takes a step away from their traditional style in the third track ‘slomo’ alongside Tohji. For Midas, this switch from afrobeats to a more electronic rager beat sound may be an opening for future avenues in her case - an exciting possibility. Followed by ‘2gether’ which lowers the tempo, and brings in a more acoustic sound for the intro before falling into a mix of synths and soothing vocals, two contrasting sounds combining quite brilliantly.
British rapper Slowthai features on the electronic dance track entitled ‘Up all week’, which takes you straight into the middle of a rave. Slowthai’s usual aggressive and unique style suits the heavy electronic beat which allows his voice to be the focal point. The song itself could arguably be seen as a testament to the UK club scene. Flipping the script again, ‘Prada’ ft Leilah is much more upbeat, bringing forth the sounds of an early 2000s pop anthem. Leilah’s vocals and the occasional funky bass riff make this feel-good sound the enjoyable listen it is. Followed by ‘Hollaback b——h’ featuring Shygirl and Channel Tres. Another dance song, with heavy bass, bouncy synths and a lustrous saxophone.
The eighth track, ‘Blessing Me’ ft Pa Salieu and Skillibeng combines the two artists' styles to create an amalgamation of afrobeats, UK rap and dancehall. Released earlier in the year as a teaser for the album, the afro-Caribbean song’s rhythmic beat and catchy hook nevertheless caused its spread as a popular TikTok audio. Continuing with the range of international influence, Crossan collaborates with Honduran artist Isabella Lovestory, whose Spanish vocals are layered over the top of an accordion creating a Latin-flavoured reggaeton banger in the form of ‘Tonto’. Joining a collection of summer dance hits Crossan has provided on this album.
The penultimate song of the album is an r&b/garage crossover in the form of ‘E-motions’ featuring Erika De Casier. This is followed by the album ending ‘Blush’ featuring Leilah once again, which clearly aims to be a beach club banger, which would be an unsurprising reality. A melodic keyboard and bright drums, partnered with Leilah’s energetic vocals, really help wrap up this ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ compilation-style project of Crossan’s.
Though this may be a project that some will be surprised by, Mura Masa pushing the boundaries of their work in what we should come to expect from them. Another great project presents both new sounds and variations of the familiar, an amazing collection of supporting artists allowing for a complete body of work which will be enjoyed by people with a wide range of musical preferences. It’s bold and choppy and for some, it may be difficult to listen through from start to finish due to a lack of flow, however, it guarantees track-by-track enjoyment for those who choose to listen. Don’t be surprised if some of these songs have crowds bouncing at summer DJ sets or late club nights. All in all, it appears that Crossan’s objective to have ‘fun’ as the album was originally titled, has been very much met.
Words by Ethan Cornick
