Dguima – Spiritly Raised (Album Review)

Every once in a while, an artist comes along to provide ‘noise’ in the algorithm of new and incoming music. Noise is a good thing, for anyone that knows about the dangers of asserted determinism. An oddly mass-produced and regurgitated act is not good for the general evolution of music itself, as it hurts the potential that we can discover through unwinding and finding out the limits of music. It definitely takes an unconventional and creative person to explore this statespace of novelty, and today’s review will centre an artist that certainly fits those requirements: Dguima

Dguima is described as a soflo based artist who began exploring his artistry in 2020. Born in Brazil, he is a multi-instrumentalist, including the guitar. He is also a singer as well as an MC. He tries to merge and invent new genres of music by infusing multiple genres within his body of work. He has also taken his own time to produce and master the album that this review will analyse, titled ‘Spiritly Raised’. Typically, musical acts that infuse multiple genres as well as methodologies can lead to a body of work that is more competent. However, that is primarily based on how one manipulates their ability to present themself in terms of music. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

The album is admittedly very oddly formatted on YouTube, but I presume it is acceptable as it fits the general theme of iconoclasm apparent in Dguima’s artistry.

The first track, ‘Curse Breaker‘, starts with a spoken-rap sequence by the artist himself and a bunch of synthesizers modulating with a slight flanger applied. In terms of production, it is very oddly made. The drum sequence sounds quite out-of-date, like as if it was taken from an 80s drum machine. In a moment of humour, I’d almost liken it to the percussive preference of Hausa music in the late 2000s before they switched over to more futuristic drum chops. I think in terms of compositional intent, the musical theme is interesting. There are chords apparent with slight melancholy and science age tinges to it, but the mix of the track is generally choppy. I think, like most tracks on the album, that the ideas in this album serve as a good skeleton. However, with all of my reviews, I have to fairly pit it against tracks that sound more full and polished. In that sense, I cannot simply look the other way and let this slide. It has creative intent, but it needs to be improved. Another glaring problem with this track, and with the rest of the album, is the artist’s vocal techniques. Rapid-fire delivery can be done stylistically, but he still maintains a sense of off-tuneness and it is a little too brash to my ears.

The second track, ‘App Riot D’/’RGd1aW1hIC0gQXBwIFJpb3QgRA==‘ (as denoted on the YouTube release) does not provide me with any more critique that is truly apparent on the same track. Similarly, I think the ‘glitch’ rave style of the backing track is very interesting and almost reminds me of a mixture of David Bowie’s experimental drum ‘n’ bass work with Trent Reznor. However, the vocals detract from the track altogether due to the vocalist’s brash and amateur techniques. It does not have much musical variation besides the general groove of the initial sequence of the track. Another thing that gives this track lesser points is the lack of modulation during the vocals, which can make it seem like the vocalist is ‘egging’ on the melodic flair of the track. During the ‘rap’ sequence break of the track though, a very interesting technique can be heard with the synths reminiscing a recurrent alert sound clip and a percussive swing. Once again, the backing track has the potential to be something if polished further, but the vocals give it demerit points.

The third track, ‘Vishnu Way‘, starts worse than the initial tracks due to the mismatch of the time signature of the backing track and the introductory vocals. While polyphony can be experimentally executed, I don’t think it necessarily works in this aspect. Think of music from Central Asia, in which an eighth-measure time signature can be heard. However, other aspects of the song are calibrated carefully to match the groove of the beat. In this track, you get strings hit with a very odd syncopation, that could honestly work if a) the clip did not sound like a generic MIDI file, as well as an Asiatic ‘vocal’ or ‘string’ in the background. I think if the initial strings were changed to a more organic or even a fuller digital sound, the backing track would work. There is a spark of genius in this though, as towards the end the ‘break’ of the song in terms of percussion give it a pseudo-breakbeats feel.

The fourth track, ‘Love Beat‘, starts with an organic drum and descends into a psychedelic style that slightly adds elements of hijaz scale in. I can hear the idea and it sounds very good in theory, but once again, I think the time signature and the sequence of each instrument take away from the track in the first place. I can hear some elements of genre bending in this track, with a mixture of psychedelic, rock, blues, soul as well as jazz. I think the percussive break in this particular track is quite genius. It just needs to be cleaned up, and perhaps have no vocals at all. This track could definitely pass off as a ‘contemplative neo-jazz’ track if it was polished further. A high degree of novel creativity, as well as musical variability, is displayed in this track, and I have to give the artist his flowers for this particular track.

The fifth track, ‘Sky High‘, begins with a mixture of acoustic guitars and futuristic synths that ‘bounce off’, giving off a very unique feel to my ears. I think it is very sparkly to some degree. This song starts to go off the rails in the middle of the song. The unique and slightly inviting compositional clip towards the front, almost chromatic, continues, but the vocalist seems to go into another dimension, figuratively, and forgets all principles of vocal cohesion. I get that in rock, sometimes you have to deviate from what is considered classical singing, but in this case I really do think it clashes with the rest of the track.

The sixth track, ‘Sunshine Magic‘, follows the same theme of mismatched vocal intros. I get the intent to be non-conventional, but we have to think about how the listener would perceive it. The vocal clip of the vocalist is oddly echoed, giving the illusion of a bad party hall. The synths and music clips used in this particular track also sound elementary, quite unfortunately. I will say though, the use of tempo changes and thematic changes give the song a very whimsical feel, appropriate for the title. The use of choral vocals as well as various other vocal clips to create a somewhat serene soundscape definitely does work in this aspect, but I think the percussion in this track is unfortunately ill-fated. It has too much of a swing that corporate 90s tracks has. Including the digitised trumpet in the background. This track frankly leaves me more confused as to whether I’m supposed to understand the niche of experimental art or truly give an objective take. I am kin to Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, and even Bela Bartok… but something seems off.

The seventh track, ‘Astronaut of the Voi’, starts off more promising than the other tracks. For once, I think the intent to experiment actually works out well. There are no conflicting tracks in the beginning sequence, even with the use of ‘warping’ DJ-techniques mid-track. There is a breakbeat feel to this, as well as a slight 70s vibe to this. I think each segment of the song gels very well with each other. The vocal techniques of the vocalist adopt a more choppy, ‘Art of Noise’ style technique, making it where his voice doesn’t conflict- it becomes part of the song, as an instrument in the quilt of this composition. In my humble opinion, this is one of the better tracks on the album. It is very innovative, tight as well as spunky.

The eighth track, ‘Overcame‘, enters with a decent musical tone. It has the groove of urban hip hop from the 90s, this time with a classy flair. The vocalist does not really sound like he conflicts with the rest of the track, but he does go out of tune and oversings at some parts of the song. However, the instrumental is ABSOLUTELY sublime to me. It is experimental, yes, with the use of the percussive chops and layered notes, but the combination of a sultry and ethereal chord structure with one that gives you the feel of mystery is oddly pleasant and contemplative. I love the little sparks of piano keys within the track, giving it a jazzy flair contrasting with a hyperfuturistic trip-hop beat. This might be the best track in the album. It also boasts sparks of beautiful chromaticism and pizzicatos, adding on to the motif of mystery. All the clips are of great quality in this track. I can also hear slight influence of the Indian scale, through the use of a sitar. Honestly, this track is very well-composed, well-produced, and nicely executed. Without the vocals, it would be absolutely stunning. This track deserves all the praise it deserves.

The ninth track, ‘Pick a Card‘, comes in strong with electric guitars as well as an echoed out percussion. It has all the feels of goth rock, and in THIS particular instance, the echo effect in the vocals works. It’s akin to the sound of a Malay ‘Mat Rock’ band playing and singing in the kolong blok, in which the echo gives the drawn out rock an oddly deeper feel. I love the sporadic nature of the drums, with the cymbals and the toms interacting together. The electric guitars draw out deeper throughout the track, with a sprinkling of synthesizers pulsating throughout. If you’re into early Hole and their releases from 1991, such as Turpentine, this would definitely take you back. It’s a decent track.

The tenth track, ‘Endiabrar‘, switches up the theme with a tribal percussive slant and a flanged bass. The same electric sequence from before is employed to this track, this time with a trip hop slant to it again. It makes me think of Rage Against The Machine, with a more tribal front to it. The guitars do have a slight ‘funk’ to its rhythm, but otherwise, this track is one of the more ‘straightforward’ tracks. The syncopation oddly resembles the structure of an electronic track, which I do find fascinating.

The eleventh track, ‘Neonn Blast‘, goes back into the territory of mismatched ‘futurism’ with rapid-fire delivery. I can’t really say much about this track, because the musical composition of this track employs very similar strategies to that of his previous tracks. There is a simple, doom-esque synth background, that expectedly descends into a bit more complexity towards the end. It has tinges of whimsical-rock towards the end, kind of like Beck. The track then switches up, with the trip hop groove descending, and a diluted bass underlying an electric scape layered onto it. This segment in of itself is quite interesting, I wish it could’ve been expanded upon without any vocals as an interpretive neo-electric-jazz-trip hop track. Quite fascinating in terms of compositional intent.

The twelvth track, ‘Blackzillian‘, starts off with a very 90s eccentric hip-hop feel. Think about a mixture of Digable Planets, as well as Shock G. That’s the exact theme the percussive loop of this track gives me. I assume this track is more rap-heavy, so the focus is really on how the backing track fits the rapping sequence. In terms of the instrumentation of the track, it is wacky, fast-forward, with streaks of chords that also resemble other niche 90s acts. I wonder how the artist did this with today’s hardware, because remaking that sound to this degree is actually quite interesting. Towards the end of the song, he intelligently adds sparks of synth breakdowns, giving the song a little spark before it fades out. I think novel people would definitely adore the track.

The final track, ‘Anonymous Vibes‘, almost sounds like it could be in the backing track of an amateur spy movie. It is compositionally sound, but more detail needs to be paid to the quality of the sounds employed in the DAW he uses. I can hear an attempt at multi-instrumental conglomeration, but after all, this track is only 30 seconds long. From what I can hear, this can definitely be expanded upon and improved- it is not a work of art that needs to be discarded.

All in all, this entire album was definitely unconventional, to say the least. I have never heard anything like this before, and I must commend the artist for at least trying to create something. My biggest general problem with the album is the artist’s vocals, as I don’t know if they’re necessarily suited for the art that he’s trying to make. A lot of the instrumental clips that the artist puts to his voice definitely have enough potential if expanded upon and EQ’d correctly. Unfortunately, I also have to say that this album lacks a certain kind of professionalism that is necessary for all kinds of art- even if experimental. You want your unconventional techniques to be lauded like Iannis Xenakis, not compared to Yoko Ono. I think as a person who wants to deviate from the norm, he truly should continue to work on his art BUT improve on the quality of his compositions and instrumentals, and perhaps, divorce from the idea of vocals. Not all music must have vocals- in fact, I think music without vocals helps you to appreciate the complexity of music more.

With these issues aside, there are some sparks of genius within this album. I truly recommend the tracks ‘Love Beat’, ‘Astronaut of the Voi’, and I HIGHLY recommend listening to ‘Overcame‘.

Rating/Mediocre – ‘Spiritly Raised’ unfortunately falls under the trope of an intent of experimentation matched with an overexpansion of the idea of experimentation, so much so that the quality of the work fails. I see a lot of compositional potential, but a lot of tracks generally feel off. With only 3 tracks out of 12 being truly passable, I think more work needs to be done. However, there is one track that is the saving grace of the album.

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