Rochester, NY’s Agaaze is a 19-year-old multi-instrumentalist who just released his debut EP A Portal Inside, which takes listeners on a journey filled with vibe-y electronica, blending an assortment of sounds from electro-pop and neo-psychedelia. On this album, Agaaze features different instrumentals from heavy synths, piano and some featured guitar work as well as vocals that definitely feeds into the ambiance.
The EP gets started to the array of beats that sound catchy and upbeat on “Day Dreaming.” I could hear synths, keys and other digital fare highlighting the sounds. There was a whole lot of atmosphere to this electronic number. I was getting funk vibes as well that gave this track a very fun twist. The guitar solo on this number was also really good. The sounds on “Take It Slow/Personal” are more mellow and laid-back The glitch-y beats gives off a rather space-age quality. Once the ambient vocals arrived, I was getting more of Agaaze’s sounds here. Beats and electronic riffs surround the sounds on “Passion Blind.” Agaaze’s vocals come across very airy and reverb-drenched. He seems to experiment more on this track as the vocals appear to pay ode to the spoken word format. On “Set Me Free,” some more atmospheric synths settle into this track. The keys and synths draw you in closer to this moody and ambient song.. Overall, the vibes feel very moody and dream-like. On “Tidal Waves,” the sound of water cascading all around surrounds this track. The sound of percussion lights up the sounds. adding to the ambiance of this song. This proved to be a pure instrumental interlude from the artist. The guitars also sounded great. The female background vocal harmonies on “One Shot” gave off an airy vibe. I also enjoyed just how mellow everything sounded. Percolating percussive beats grow in traction on “Enter The Portal.” More of Agaaze’s easy-going vibes come through once his vocals could be heard. Feeling very relaxed, I thought the artist continues more of his electronica vibes on this ambient send-off. This was a full-on home-recording, which Agaaze recorded in his basement. The artist handles everything himself from the writing, recording and producing to the mixing and mastering. And you can see that this attention to detail has paid off. A Portal Inside doesn’t feel like a home-recording at all. I thought the artist shows a whole lot of potential here and I look forward to seeing more of his work soon.
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