Shimmering piano keys lightly drape over a punctuating beat. An airy vocal glides through the sonic textures. A bellowing coolness emits, propelling listeners upon a wave of unrelenting emotion. That wave is called “Overthinking”, the newest single from Bearcubs.
When I first received “Overthinking” it was impossible not to be enveloped by its raw energy and feeling. To produce this, Bearcubs blends together elements found at the core of funk with the emotive undertow that drives R&B. Of course, he does this through an electronic prism, which produces a sleek, grinding groove. It’s quite a way to announce to the world that his next LP is on the way via Independently Popular.
The meticulously skilled artist has paved his own, independent path. His rich sound designs and experimentation carved through the prickly oversaturated streaming noise and brought us Bearcubs’s first LP, Ultraviolet, which he released without a label. The critically acclaimed debut shined a light upon his undeniable skill as a writer, producer, and – most importantly – storyteller. He’s a revelation to a scene that often times can get caught in the data and numbers game. That’s why he’s an artist that we all need to keep our eyes and ears pinned to as he rolls out Early Hours.
To better understand Bearcubs sound and vision for the upcoming album, he provided us this insight:
Ultraviolet, my debut album, was more just about getting out a lot of ideas I had on my mind in a short space of time beyond what I had released before. After about 6 months of living in Berlin, it was as if everything had time to ferment and filter through my brain and suddenly a lot of the material for Early Hours started to come out in a flurry.
– Bearcubs
Every song I write I am trying to get a bit closer to the idea of what is really me. With this album I tried to look back to what originally inspired me growing up; my dad playing me a lot of jazz records and bands like Steely Dan, hearing my brother mixing 90s house and old school hip hop vinyls upstairs, and the relentless exposure to pop and r’n’b from radio/TV music video channels – that definitely influenced me subconsciously.
Early Hours is out May 15. Keep your eyes on CULTR for updates and the eventual release. To stream the debut single “Overthinking” scroll down or follow the link here.
