With his debut-12-inch for Pictures Music, Olugbenga Adelekan puts his cards on the table. And he hasn’t allowed himself to go easy. He’s had his laurels when he was the bassist for Metronomy, amongst them the coveted Mercury Prize, but now he’s striking a new, a more electronic path. It’s not this musical u-turn that makes this record problematic, because Olugbenga still uses his old Metronomy-experiences and knows how to play his repertoire gainfully. Hafiza [Innocence]«, the title-track, convinces through its electrofunk-bassline, through its melody with the necessary pop-appeal, through beats with trap-infusion. On top of it, you’ll hear a voice trapped in a hypnotic loop, singing the words: »you mesmerize me girl«. In short: the track has all the ingredients needed to become a huge hit this summer. The only reason that it might not is Olugbenaga’s immense play instinct – he likes to play with his voice, pitches it up, pitches it down. He assiduously tests out the different functions of his synthesizer and keeps on finding new sounds on it. Hence, he sometimes makes things more complicated than they really are. Personally, I quite like that approach. It also enriches »Hafiza [Innocence]«. The B-side, on the other hand, can’t quite live up to the first one. »I Can Be Whatever You’re After« seems more like a test of individual sounds on a huge spectrum rather than an actual track. »Time Dollars« is a bit more elaborate, though the general mood is a bit more dimmed – it’s more damp, more baggy… More Hip Hop.
Hafiza [Innocence]
