Lonely Old Man

As we've alluded to before, May 7th will be a good day for alternative soulful hip-hop. The reason? Fred Red's and Maura's debut album Grimus is finally out in all its multigenre colorful and captivating glory. The Berlin-based duo has proven time and time again to be one of those almost unrealistically fabulous producer-&-MC collaborations, where you can feel a special connection that goes far beyond “Ey, I sent you some beats, but whatever”.

With Grimus it seems like that magical collaboration has blossomed into its final form, giving us 14 tracks of pure unfiltered hip-hop and alternative indietronica madness. On the 9th track "Lonely Old Man" some hard-hitting drum breaks and subtle groove textures, led by jazz brooms and playful synth solos meet one of the most charismatic frontwomen that the young German hip-hop scene has to offer. Maura drifts sprightly easily between the worlds of neo-soul soft vocal melodies and laid back, yet somehow still impressively skillful rap flows. The bassline provides a funky groove, serving as a solid base for Malik Diao's soulful keys and Fred Red's stylish production and arrangement.

Here's what the three of them shared about the behind the scenes of the project exclusively for Stereofox:

"The process of making the album was basically like a dialogue between us, a creative space where you just try and experiment. Everything was written and recorded in Fred Red's bedroom studio and in between, we just cooked and drank tea and talked about music and life. We hope that the album will make itself heard and will give the audience lots of vibes and joy. We are really curious about the resonance."

As far as expectations for the sound of the album are concerned, any preconception may be quite useless. It's best to just listen to the whole thing and experience it for yourself, without expecting any clear genres. My personal favourites besides this one are "Gold Seller" and "Jane Do"!

The full album released via Sichtexot Records can be streamed anywhere here, but if you're feeling the well-thought-out impact that this heartfelt project has to offer, you can support the German talents by purchasing the album as a vinyl LP here!