DUST. Revels in a Warm Neo-Soul Psychedelia with New EP ‘VIBRANT’

Almost exactly two months after releasing his debut EP, THE LO TIDE THEORY, Bahraini beatmaker, DUST., has dropped another, one that sees him revel in a sort of psychedelic warmth.

VIBRANT isn’t vibrant in the traditional sense - it washes over you, it melts and it tingles with an inviting hue that subtly showcases the weapons that the producer has in his arsenal. The four-track EP opens with a piece that certainly lives up to its name. ‘SUNKISSED INTRO’ features the voice of Saudi artist, Hwoman, along a beat-less, rumbling cascade of keys, as she narrates what can best be described as a dream, the feel of the wind, the touch of the water, and “sweet ice tea and sun-kissed cheeks” painting a languid, hazy picture of a summer.

‘THE LOOK OF LOVE’ blows the haze of the opener and enters a world ringing of neo-soul, a stretched-out, almost skittish beat dancing along until the skip of ‘BLOOMIN’ takes on a similarly neo-soul-leaning hip-hop sound. It’s perhaps the fourth and last track, ‘WATERMELON LEMONADE’ that best demonstrates DUST.’s uniqueness, the kind of flashes that went into forming the best moments of THE LO TIDE THEORY. 

There’s something much more intangible about the track in comparison to the others. The way it builds and weaves its elements, the slight distortion used and its borderline melancholic chords paint a much richer picture of a producer who seems to be at his best when he’s crafting, when he's telling a story.