Rat Raft

You’d be mistaken if you think Rat Raft just sounds like an elegant story in motion. Apart from that, the track is subtly cheeky since German native Elènne also sounds like he is showing off his expertise in such blatant manner. Elènne has sonically sculpted a piece of work that is filled with an assortment of different textures without letting the feel of the song get lost under all that momentous instrumentation.

The first time I heard Rat Raft, in a couple of seconds a red mark on my left cheek appeared and I felt some kind of pain in my chest. All that wasn’t actually pain from pleasure, dear reader I am not joking when I say that the drums on Rat Raft slap so hard that injury is not out of the question. My warning to you, listen with caution! The kick is really punchy by virtue of an added layer of percussion over it and the movement created by the fluctuating velocity of the snares would definitely encourage you to bomp your head hypnotically.

The contradicting energies of "Rat Raft" are so fascinating because on one side you have these combative drums and sturdy bass glides, while on the other side the melodies are sweet and harmonious particularly with the arrangement of the vocal sample. In fact the inclusion of the impressively chopped vocal sample made all the difference. The bell-ish keys made the track sparkle and perhaps even memorable because of the catchy chords, although without the vox the element of soul would’ve been lost. Elènne further exhibits his virtuosity with the juxtaposition between electronic and real world sounds.  The difference between “hey, I really like this song” vs “Oh my GOSH this track is FIRE!” has something to do with the flute. I feel like a story is in motion when the flute arrives, particularly near the end when the drums fall silent and there’s another wind instrument introduced to us. The curtain closes in such a cinematic fashion and if I could I’d definitely give a standing ovation