Top Track: “Feelin’ Lovely”
The phrase “intimate set” has always intrigued me, mostly because it’s so relative. A friend of mine recently purchased a ticket for an “intimate” Kendrick Lamar show at Concord Music Hall in Chicago. Concord has a capacity of 1500 and general admission tickets are already sold out. To me, that’s not intimate, no matter how toned-down the music is. For an intimate set to live up to its name, less has to be more. Less instruments, less people, less space. Connection with the audience is key, and every aspect of the show should be adjusted to cultivate that connection.
From the looks of it, Connan Mockasin and Devonte Hynes (also known as Blood Orange) put on a truly intimate show to unveil their collaborative EP, Myths 001. With Hynes behind the keyboard and Mockasin on guitar, each artist was in his respective comfort zone. They faced each other, not the crowd. As the only two people performing, the audience heard the songs straight from the source. That’s a connection.
The concert served as the final showcase of an EP written and recorded in the week leading up to the Marfa Myths multimedia festival (hence the name “Myths 001”). Mockasin and Hynes are label mates on Mexican Summer. They met up at the Marfa, TX studio to produce the EP specifically for the festival, which is associated with the label. According to Mexican Summer, the EP is one of many future collaborative releases, meant to give artists on the label a chance to work with one another.
Hynes has been producing 80’s-inspired funk for the last few years as Blood Orange, and Connan Mockasin dove headfirst into the world of down tempo funk with his most recent album, Caramel (2013). Given the current stylistic similarities between these two artists, this is the perfect time for them to collaborate. Myths 001 sounds like the work of a seasoned duo, despite the fact that they have never worked together before.
“La Fat Fur” starts the EP off. It is the most uptempo of the three songs. As the EP plays through, each song gets progressively slower. It is darker and more guitar-rock-leaning than most of Mockasin and Hynes’ individual work as of late. Considering both artists have drifted away from upbeat “rock music” in favor of downtempo funk, the song plays like a synthesis of their past and present.
Arguably the most accessible track on Myths 001, “Feelin’ Lovely” sounds like it could’ve been part of the sessions for Caramel. The minimal, strutting rhythm section a and weightless vocal melody frame the “lovely” musical conversation between Mockasin’s lush, delicately layered guitar and Hynes’ always-tasteful electric piano. As an individual song, this one has the longest shelf-life on Myths 001.
Closing out the EP is the anguished “Big Distant Crush,” which is the most truly collaborative song offered on Myths 001. With Hynes and Mockasin trading verses and riffs on their respective instruments, this recording sounds like two very talented musicians in a room, playing off each other. It feels natural and very human. With no percussion added to Mockasin and Hynes’ musical interplay, the song has no groove. Instead, it plays like a free-form neo-R&B rumination. It is the EP’s emotional peak, but with no beat to hold it together, it should be reserved for particularly introspective times.
At only 11 minutes, Myths 001 packs an impressive amount of musical style and emotional breadth into a small package. However, the highlight of this release is the chemistry between Mockasin and Hynes as musicians. The interplay between Mockasin’s guitar and Hynes’ piano sounds organic on a level that implies a continuous musical relationship, despite that this is their first collaboration. It makes me wonder about the potential of a permanent Mockasin-Hynes side-project.
Overall, fans of Connan Mockasin or Blood Orange will find something worthwhile here, but Myths 001 is probably not the place to start if you’re unfamiliar with their individual work. It is a signpost for both artists, and a significant achievement for neither.
The Healthy Alternative 
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