Blissful Wizard

The Blissful Wizard has definitely accomplished his goal of creating a cohesive album, and not just a bunch of songs with The Earthquake, seven tracks of dark and sombre sci-fi sounds rooted in hip-hop, heavy reggae and dub. The use of synthesiser and sample effects like bubbling water, laser blasts, and beeps and blips, throughout this EP add to the general mood and lend it a futuristic sound. Quite often the production is slow and plodding, and Bliss Wiz’s slowed-down and manipulated vocals tend to nurture that feeling. Unfortunately, he sounds best on "Stranger Things Have Happened” and "Swamp Red Oak,” where he doesn’t mess with the natural sound of his voice too much, and much less so on the ultra-slowed "July 29th 2005” and "Don’t Give a Hoot.” For "Running Round the 21st Century,” Bliss Wiz opens with an interesting sing-song style over a catchy flute track but it quickly devolves into a bunch of shit-talking — emphasis on the talking. The Blissful Wizard would have done the beat more justice by leaving the song as an instrumental like he did with "Sci Fi Meltdown” and "Babe Have I Done Ya Wrong?” While he excels more as a beat-maker, the Blissful Wizard has created a tight and interesting EP that works together as a whole. I’m just left wondering how others would sound on his production…