There’s nothing quite like a complete, polished, subduing and intoxicating release to soothe out our days here at TMN. Alas, Toronto based chameleon producer Coleman Hell has touched down with a debut extended play, VENA. A suffuse collection of warm, synth soaked pop gems, VENA lifts off with “Venezuela”; itself a low-end pushing, falsetto fueled anthem which more than establishes an air of sophisticated fluency and thought out instrumentation for the five track EP’s duration. Its sophomore entry, “Heat of the Night” may very well be the crown jewel of Coleman Hell’s debut opus. Hell’s breathy, raspy reverberations drive much of VENA, but his vocal work on “Heat of the Night” reaches its warm hand into our soul like only a lover could.
The EP’s midpoint, “Fortress” rides a hand plucked electric bassline, soulful incantations and clicky percussive elements to serve as the superlative break before segueing into a slightly more upbeat groover, “All the Monsters”. Coleman Hell’s clearly been around a DJ set or two as well, with an impeccable arrangement of tunes serving as a welcome storyline to the VENA saga. “Monsters” wonderfully brings its listener to Summer rooftop parties with its feelgood production, leaning on a loopy lead synth to serve as a driving focal point for not just itself but the EP as a whole. “Red Rover”, which features a lovely vocal contribution from his fellow Sideways crew member La+ch closes the 20 minute sonic excursion with a bullet. And while the saxophone may have been a bit overdrawn in dance music over the last couple years, Coleman Hell brilliantly drops an arpeggiated alto-sax melody amongst a sea of soft synthesizers to balance each aural aspect with the careful precision of a brain surgeon.
Already with an acclaimed mixtape, Stark Raving, and now a worthy EP entry into the Coleman Hell catalog, his debut full length is currently being prepped, rinsed and scoured for an early 2015 release; which quite honestly we can’t wait for. Hell’s sticky blend of pop accessibility and worldy wise production structures have our interest piqued almost more than any other new artist at the tail end of 2014. Watch for more new music from Coleman Hell here on TMN and stream VENA in its entirety below.
