After much anticipation, Phara's new album is finally here. Titled broken signal, it features 10 tracks, all connected yet each different than the other.

It opens with pulse, the album's longest track, already setting the tone for the entire album. The song itself is comprised of three different parts all combined into one (more precisely, two parts of the song and a bridge). Anyone with a keen ear for genres can instantly recognise elements of lofi house, industrial trip hop in the first part and dungeon synth and dark ambient in the next. I would even go so far to call this track a mix between something you would play to hype people up and a calm, soothing piece of music that could calm you down (pretty cool, huh?).

Then we have broken signal, which is a straightforward ambient, idm, downtempo song, followed by two of my three personal favourites on this album: woodland broadcast (archive I and II). Since I already wrote a detailed description of the first woodland broadcasting song I won't go into detail, instead I will focus more on the second one. Woodland broadcast (archive II) might actually be the album's strongest point. It starts of slow, ambiental, only to break into a mix of electronic, idm, downtempo sounds that take the listener on a whirlwind of effects. For me personally, the drums are the song's greatest strength - they resemble the sound of rain and water, and the entire track gives of a 90s tech vibe, again The Matrix and Ghost In A Shell, and you can also hear some jungle music, Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada inspirations.

Another track I will mention, and my favourite one, is go! It is just a perfect example of a breakbeat/digital hardcore song, with its beat drop that just instantly pumps you with energy (my first thought as a similar track would definitely be some of The Prodigy's earlier works). The album also includes the tracks afterimage, hades, se7en, tape decay in pine valley and eternal.sleep (signal loss), all of which blend multiple genres such as electropop, minimal wave, experimental, house, trip hop, experimental electronic and many, many more.

What I find extremely interesting about Phara is that his track titles go hand-in-hand with the feelings that these song evoke, and you can almost always envision the exact same image in your mind as the title suggest, whether it be an image of an isolated place or a sense of alienation and despair, it's all there for you to hear. If you listen closely, you can hear influences by Aphex Twin, BoC, Nine Inch Nails, Autechre, Akira Yamaoka, Machine Girl, Casino Versus Japan, among others.

I sincerely believe that this is an album that anyone can listen to and find at least one song that fits their preferences, but I highly recommend listening to it entirely, because it is yet another example of an up-and-coming artist whose work is innovative, new and full of sounds that have their own unique note, and it just shows what a creative force Phara and how far he can, and will, go.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/Y5NZO_IeteQ?si=hU2vRaS8ejQg105C

Nina Protocol link: https://www.ninaprotocol.com/releases/phara-b-r-o-k-e-n-s-i-g-n-a-l

Bandcamp link: https://phara1.bandcamp.com/album/b-r-o-k-e-n-s-i-g-n-a-l-full-album

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/album/2mi05Pzi6LZzp2BIkOUVNo?si=NveI3NlSRIKcVHUFHv71aA

Phara - broken signal (album review)

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Phara - broken signal (album review)