March 11, 2021 | Lindsey Blakley
Kizer’s debut album, “Off Beat Still Vibin” dropped today and your fooling yourself if you think the word ‘debut’ is synonymous with ‘rookie’. If so, Kizer put the shit to that old synonym and replaced it to, “force to be reckoned with.”
The track, ‘Steppin’ kicks off the album with four distinct waves of sound before the drum kick makes an appearance. Each waves brings more sound and by the fourth wave you can even hear what sounds like frogs and grasshoppers in a swampy area.
It may have been done by complete accident but the track is 2 minutes and 22 seconds long. The perfect angel number to begin a debut album, meaning an abundance of harmony and balance. Not only that, but he closes out the album with a track titled, ‘11:11’, the number of grand beginnings and setting the foundation for a bright ass future. This is far too fitting to be a coincidence, but if Kizer didn’t do these things on purpose, it’s safe to say this album was divinely created and divinely placed in leu of his knowing.
All of the songs themselves are seemingly off beat but in the raddest way. ‘Off Beat Still Vibin’ is the perfect name for this album.
‘Not Me’ was the single dropped a few days before the album released. Within the track you hear a somewhat distorted voice repeating was seems to be the words “not me” but could easily be translated to “off beat” as well. Again, this might not have been purposeful either but oh so very fitting.
I would have to say, my personal favorite track from the album is, ‘Bleed’. This track is insanely hard and its placement within the album is perfect. It comes in at just the perfect time. When you’ve been losing your shit and think there can’t possibly be another banger follow-up, Kizer knocks all expectations out the park.
Each track in the album flows seamlessly into the next, making the album feel more like a mix than anything. Before and after every beat drop, Kizer drops down to some of the quietest sounds, making the entire album feel like an ocean of insanely crunchy, vibey, weird waves. Kizer says he used Abelton throughout, including Abelton stock instruments, audio, and MIDI effects, but there are some sounds that he could have easily said he recorded and I would believe him 100%.
This album is full of the surprise and off-beat beauty. Every drop is unpredictable and utilizes sounds and effects not used by many other producers. Kizer stands out in this way. He brings innovation to the scene and shows us that you can have a chill, vibey track still be nasty and hard as fuck.
When I asked him about his creative process for the album, Kizer came back with, “I had the idea of starting an album at the beginning of 2020 but didn’t start pursuing the idea until August of that year. I wanted to create an album that was focused on the “Kizer” style but pushed to the extreme. Most of my style is funky drums and weird sound design so I focused on those parts but pushed it even further. I was creating sounds and ideas that I could never imagine myself making.” He continued, “I pushed myself during this project and I loved every single moment of it. This project is the most fun I have had creating music than any other project before.”
Well, Kizer, I for one am happy and refreshed by the album and kindly ask you to continue pushing your limits in the future. This is an album that doesn’t come around often. When I get the pleasure of hearing an entire album filled with weird sounds and drums, especially one that utilizes nature sounds as well, it’s an album I cherish and won’t soon forget.
Kizer’s short-term goal was for everyone simply to feel happy when listening to this album.
Well, CHECK!
Long-term goals, Kizer is focusing writing more music so he can one day create for a living. With a debut album as nasty as this, it’s not hard to see Kizer doing this full-time in the near future.
If you haven’t yet heard the album, check it out here!
Keep up with Kizer here!
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