We’re Falling in Love with This Toronto-based Artist’s New EP, “Earth Tones”
Mateo Mancuso is one Toronto-based artist to watch out for. His new EP, Earth Tones takes jazz and R&B to the next level. His melodies are catchy, his lyrics are clever and his sound is fresh. The five-song EP is diverse and dynamic so you can listen to it on repeat and find something new every time.
At his EP Release Concert on July 30, he played a few tracks from the EP as well some unreleased music and a beautiful rendition of Daniel Caesar’s “Best Part.” Dave & Hjin opened for him with a few songs from his own debut EP, Hyunjin’s Tapings of Isolated Events, which included some very creative use of his pedalboard to create washy clouds of sound.
In Earth Tones, Mancuso creates a warm and welcoming environment in his tracks. Each song has its own personality and groove. The EP’s title track, “Earth Tones” sounds like your summer vacation on a beach island resort condensed into a song. The song is about how he met a girl and now he can’t stop thinking about her. It starts off with a sort of telephone effect over the guitar and vocals before kicking into a funky groove that carries through the song. When the bridge hits, the song enters into a drunken ethereal state with a beautiful keyboard solo by Mancuso himself and slowly fades out.
On the EP, Mancuso plays keyboard and you can tell that many of the songs are very driven by the keys. However, every member of his band, being trained jazz musicians, are all very talented and this is very evident in the music. His band includes Avery Raquel (backing vocals), Tymish Koznacky (alto saxophone), Vlad Redzic (guitar), Matt McCormack (bass) and Stephen Bennett (drums).
My favourite track on the EP is probably “Bleach” which was co-written and features Canadian contemporary singer, Avery Raquel. Their voices blend together so well and the song gives off very ‘Daniel Caesar vibes’. The bridge features a steamy guitar solo by Redzic. “Bleach” is one of the slower ballads from the EP and creates a nice contrast to the other tunes which are more upbeat.
Besides the occasional layering of vocal harmonies, the EP isn’t heavily produced. The blend of the instruments together is so pure and magical. There are enough things going on throughout the tracks to add sparkles that it really doesn’t need any extra effects. From the playful interjections of the saxophone to the mastery of Bennett on the drums, the EP is a bundle of perfection.
