EISZ
Bellevue
Mandelieu, France
There is nothing better than being pulled out of the box we all live in and seeing what talent other countries have, and by this, I don’t mean the typically heard artists I mean those that I would never know how to find. That is exactly what is happening with Eisz and their first-ever EP release ‘Bellvue’. This amazing Mandelieu artist has created something that can introduce the world to the atmosphere in the south of France, taking us all out of our bubbles and placing us nicely in theirs. Having collaborated with some great talent including Odaiba, Jérôme Dragin on Guitar, and Mireille Freydier on Saxophone, this sound experience is one ram-packed full of electric piano sounds, strings, flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and guitars, resulting in the perfect four track piece to relax to.
Starting out with ‘comes from the south’ aptly named for the EP releases main goal, this track introduces us to the EP with some serene nature-based sounds but quickly becomes an almost hip-hop style beat, with gorgeous smooth saxophone and interchangeable guitar taking over when needed, almost like they're finishing each other's sentences. This slowly fades out for us to be thrown straight into track two, where the saxophone plays a much more integral role and seems to carry the track.
With the electronica vibe of the bass and subtle guitar riffs fighting through in the background this piece, holding the EP’s name ‘Bellvue’, has a gorgeous funk vibe to it. It had me bopping around as I wrote and kept me eager to hear more. I was not disappointed as more I did get; with the introduction of the flutes and the extra playing of the saxophone this piece carries us nicely into track three ‘Soprana’.
This piece goes back to the smooth almost jazz vibe, some easy listening that can be relaxed with. Again, the theme of the saxophone is prominent here, but with a much more present electronic piano. The flutes are welcomed in again here with a lovely calming guitar solo seeing us out and into the final track of the EP.
This is introduced with some cymbals, which almost give a gong effect. The piano holds a much stronger presence here with the saxophone playing second fiddle for the first time. The guitar seems to complement the keys almost individually until about the one-minute mark with the saxophone comes back and we have an outro which harnesses every instrument and sound we have had the pleasure of listening to since track one ‘comes from the south’ right the way through to this final piece ‘Odyssée’
With the elegance of the instruments and the amazing combination and production this certainly did reach its goal of showing off what the south of France has to offer in terms of its talent.