Album Review: Des Brennan - My Dear Friend Nostalgia EP [PREMIERE]

Joined by a plethora of talented producers, our friend Des Brennan created a place where chillhop, beats and hip hop dwell in a perfect harmony. I must say - this release feels quite special to us as well. Besides the fact that we release it via our SoundCloud channel, Des is one of our first Agency clients as Geri created the artwork for the release. So happy, proud and honoured to be working with this dude.

Now, why are we here? My Dear Friend Nostalgia EP focuses on "the good ol' days". It's about reliving them and how to get the feeling of pure happiness again.

As I mentioned before, Des is not alone on that nostalgia journey. So many producers we've featured and love on this EP. Kronicle, Falcxne, Ian Ewing, sugi.wa, Shy Cope and Vanilla each add their own vision and sound to Des' flawlessly floating rhymes. As someone who has listened to their beats a lot, I managed to recognize a few signature sounds and one can tell the tracks are crafted by different producers. Each of those guys have complemented the record in their own, unique way. I guess the piano motifs unite the whole release, but it probably is a deliberate decision. There's something beautifully nostalgic about every key sound and it ties perfectly to the idea behind the release.

My Dear Friend Nostalgia kicks straight to the point. While "Laurel Road (produced by Kronicle)" could arguably be labelled as a chilled, even rather mellow track what struck me down is the intensity with which the guys open up. There's no place for spacing out. Straight to the point.

I am going to be a bit biased, because I've already heard the next track hundreds of times after we premiered it back in February, but "This Feeling" which is produced by Falcxne is one of the grooviest beats on the EP. The r&b-infused back vocals will be moving you!

Then when "Aurora Pt. II" and it's slow dopeness kicked in, it didn't take much to figure out that was Ian Ewing's work. His signature synth-y, somehow wobbly instrumentals cannot be missed. Slow-groove tune.

If you dig lofi hip hop beats then sugi.wa's got you covered. The UK producer perfectly lays down a jazzy pattern, so Des could slow things down and allow us to just zone out. That is, by the way, quite the opposite from Shy Cope's production which follows up next. I find the opposing mellow jazzy beat between "Mr. Lonely" and "Lilcoln Ave" a nice touch. That being said, Des really goes personal on this track and I highly recommend listening into the lyrics...

"there's so much than I want to say, but how would I last - I will find a way...right?"

The whole journey ends up with a classic beat by the mysterious Vanilla who gets even a feature on the track's title. I am not a string guy, but damn he did well!

I don't know about you guys, but I feel somehow closer to Des after this My Dear Friend Nostalgia journey. I hope you enjoyed the record and what he has to say as much as I do. That dude is a storyteller.