Time Soup - Time Soup

​Time Soup

Time Soup
​self-released; 2022

By Jamie Funk
​

Evan Kohn is an artist based out of Vancouver, BC and is the sole member behind Time Soup. He recently released his debut self-titled album Time Soup. The album contains nine songs and he mentions the creative process allowed him to move past things he was dealing with in a fun way. 

The music is fairly varied with different shades of emotion so let’s get into it. It starts with “Soup Time” and this is about a twenty-five second intro telling you to enjoy the album. The first song is entitled “JAZZ!” and contains a hip-hop beat, vocals and horns samples and trickling piano. This song particularly reminded me of an artist I was listening to a lot about a decade ago called Prefuse 73. The song is smooth but more or less just a groove with no major transitions or hooks. It did feel a bit removed from more of the subsequent vocal based material but was one of the highlights.

The next song and title track “Time Soup” moves like a slow burn. Kohn plays some jazz chords, sings and interjects a jazzy subtle beat. His vocals are subdued and definitely feels like he’s lamenting and longing. Similar to the previous song, there aren’t any major transitions in terms of melodies or dynamics. The drums start and stop but stay in the same groove.

“badabing, badaboom :(“ has a little more energy than the previous songs. I liked the de-tuned semi-tones on the synth and the vocals on the verse felt more like a focal point. The song felt like it was leading to a hook but he sticks to the same melodies. 

“Mmmmmmm” felt like an interlude with some synths, vocal snippets and spoken word. On “melatonin dreaming” we get a bit of ’80s synth pop quality. Kohn mentions he’s influenced by Beach House (who happens to be one of my favorites as well) and this song does have similar qualities. His vocals have very little energy on this song but there’s a mantra like quality. 

“What Good is a Soup?” continues with an ’80’s synth based quality. It’s a little more airy and he incorporates a vocoder like effect to the music. The vocals on the verse were the catchiest yet. Again there is no hook and on the verse he will go into an instrumental section instead. “leftovers” is next and goes for a chill and serene jazzy quality while the closer “Boohoo” sort of meanders about with lush guitar and not much else.

Kohn has good ideas and can start a song. I would say though he doesn't expand on the initial ideas as much as he should. There were a lot of strong songs that would have been stronger with more dynamics and a chorus or hook. He mentions Beach House and Mac Demarco as influences and those artists would be a good reference point on how a song can shift into defined sections while keeping the heart of the song.

​As someone who has been producing artists for over two decades I would say there is more potential in Kohn but this is still a strong start. He has an ear for aesthetics and there were some memorable melodies sprinkled throughout. This is a solid start and I hope to hear more of his talent in the not too distant future.

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