Big Michael is making waves with his music right now and this latest release, by my lonely, is helping immensely with creating that storm.
This track is huge, beautifully delicate and breath-takingly intense at the very same time. From the offset you feel a sense of anticipation, Big Michael’s voice and the dreamlike ambiance go together in a hypnotic and calming way, but there’s undoubtedly an air of something bigger on the horizon. As things progress, surely enough the beat kicks in – this thick and heavy, tribal-like soundscape; seemingly increasing the pace and power of the whole journey. Meanwhile the music surrounding and supporting this fills out to become something almost hip hop -like – warm synths wash over the outer edges, various vocal snippets add similar layers of further detail. And among all of this is the song itself – the concept, the melody, and Big Michael’s voice; the thread of personality and depth within the composition.
From a songwriting perspective, “by my lonely” is an easily effective hip hop song. The hook takes two key lines and runs with the title word in a familiar way; in keeping with much of the modern mainstream soundscape’s likable releases. What lifts the song up the most is undoubtedly
Big Michael’s voice, there’s softness to it throughout, a rather raspy quality but never so much so that the performance becomes loud or forced. Even with this quiet nature, the voice stands tall among the music, drawing the audience in from the offset and holding close to that attention and affection throughout.
As a love song, the lyrics work well to lay out the ideas in a minimal but relevant way – by my lonely reaches out on multiple levels, likely to become the song any number of couples might turn to as one that expresses just how they’re feeling.
Despite the song’s alternative hip hop angle, the hook works well to make certain you remember it. In the way that any effective hip hop song should, this release offers creativity and variation throughout, but that hook section – that simple line, the minimal amount of notes within it, the repetition of it during the final moments – this is ultimately what you take away and remember for the foreseeable future after listening.
“by my lonely” is a brilliant song, thoughtfully put together with only the most relevant and poignant instrumental moments – all of which take their turn to stand tall initially. Big Michael has a wonderfully interesting voice and style of writing, both of which help make this a fascinating and refreshing new hip hop piece.
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