PARADISE (LP) - hyyypnos (R&B) It’s straight up chillwave R&B with today’s LP from hyyypnos, “Paradise”. Giving Weeknd vibes with a dash of Drake style, all embedded with an immaculate production, hyyypnos’s soothing collection of tracks is a must listen.
hyyypnos has created a cohesive work, what they refer to as a mixtape, that they say is intended to be listened to sequentially and in a single sitting—which we couldn’t help but do upon starting up the first track.
We don't know much about the artist from their press release or Spotify profile, only that they define themselves as "definitely sleepy". With an aptly hypnotic style, the album did not lull us to sleep, but can certainly be prescribed to lower blood pressure as it is certainly a soothing collection. It's a "glass of wine in the dark" kind of project--hazy and ethereal, maybe pairing well with other intoxicants.
We were immediately enraptured with the first track, one of our favorites discussed below, which pulled us into the project easily. Pulling inspiration from rock and R&B, the LP’s title “PARADISE” references a place outside one’s reach, where the grass may or may not be greener. But when referring to this project, we can confirm the grass is certainly greener in hyyypnos' artist soundscape.
The production on “PARADISE” is impressive, to say the list. Boasting crisp percussion and a piercing tenor vocal, they slice right through thick pads and driving bass lines drenched in heavy verbs throughout 8 mostly mid tempo cuts (including one interlude that we think could easily be treated as yet another track). Mood wise, the album oscillates between hazy chill and club hype as hyyypnos delivers modern melodic lines with just a kiss of tuning and the occasional distortion, which carry through the album to great effect.
The sound is certainly consistent, with the first and last tracks intentionally landing in the same key, but the tracks maintain their own identity, while still melding seamlessly into each other, achieving the straight through listening session hyyypnos was striving for. As such, we don’t think there are any skips on this one, but we will focus on our favorite cuts below.
Album opener “sunkisses” is a modern quiet storm track that fully introduces the vibe that will permeate the entire project. It's the track to pop on first to decide whether the album is going to be your cup of tea, for sure. On the flip, we’ve got “IN LUV’, one of our only uptempo tracks where a bumping percussion and 808 drive a swirling verby production that is giving us a Drake kind of feeling. Our favorite, “FUMBLE” feels the most radio friendly for being very sing-along-able. Our final standout is “Tell Me”, which reminds us of The Dream, and delivers another verby production with some earcandy distortion on the lead vocal. (Sidenote, does anyone else hear Beyonce’s “7/11” on “STRANDED IN LA”?)
While desiring a full listen, we definitely think hyyypnos has created tracks that can easily be sprinkled throughout chillwave playlists, so don't be surprised if some of these records pop up in your algorithmic playlists.