At this point you must be sick of me saying it. But I can’t help myself. Samuel Seo does NOT make bad albums. Every time he releases something it just reinforces my claims. His most recent EP, D I A L, taps into something earthier in the artist. While The Misfit was mostly bright, this five-song album is drenched in darker hues. Every bit of it’s just swimming in the earth tones of classic neo-soul.
The D I A L Core
To make the intro the actual title track is bold. But it certainly lets a listener know the album’s sonic tone. “D I A L” actually brought a smile to my face. Sneaking back into the earliest days of Samuel’s music when he was wont to sprinkle instrumentals into his albums (Elbow’s “Ian’s Prayer,” [So Far Good]’s “Raindrops”).
What a clever amalgamation of dial tones and phone sounds. It does the job of both putting one in the head space and creating anticipation. Curiosity and excitement crackle in the air like the white noise between phone calls. The anxiety is palpable like answering a call from an unknown number (or perhaps someone you’ve waited to hear from for a while). From the first note of the album, Samuel places his listeners into the EP’s core.
Touching the Soul
Samuel Seo mentioned in a recent Insta live that the producer for D I A L, archeformw, was the first who “touched his soul.” Indeed, “Damn Things” really does seem to tap into something Samuel’s been trying to access for the past few albums. A rooted connection to the neo-soul that weaves complex threads throughout his discography. “Damn Things” is heavier at its foundation. There’s the same earthiness that defines neo-soul. The genre is an intricate cross-section between jazz, R&B, ’60s and ’70s Soul, and hip hop. archeformw has tapped into each element that makes up the genre. Actually given listeners new to real neo-soul a crash course in the delicate balance it strikes between all of them.
Samuel more embodies the essence of the early-’90s genre. Neo-soul vocally is a genre that doesn’t rely on the heaviness of gospel-raised singers, erring more on the side of honest emotion from the gut. However, it does require a deceptive amount of control. Singers sit nestled in the vocal range where they can most comfortably express themselves. Thus many do lounge in their lower registers. Allowing the warmth of the moment to reign instead of the oppressive need to over-impress with church vocals. Samuel does this with scary precision. His most natural tones bloom. This means we get a much more honest vocal performance from him. Something he doesn’t have to work for because it’s where he’s most comfortable. When there’s no threat, all living beings expose their vulnerabilities and desires with ease.
The Billion Dollar Cocktail
Damn, is it ever rewarding to hear Samuel and DAMYE more overtly on a track together! Theirs is the perfect cocktail of old-school soul and youthful exuberance. The bright blues of DAMYE’s V.S. cognac (a young cognac matured for two years) blends like magic with the silky smoothness of Samuel’s Crown Royal. (The Crown Royal company calls this a Billion Dollar Apple Cocktail.) When youth meets the classic elegance of experience, you get something truly magical. Samuel and DAMYE just work.
Can I just say? DAMYE continues to impress. His voice is muscular, unshy and full to bursting with energy. Not bad for someone who for the longest time was only focused on playing guitar. He shares the spotlight with Samuel like an old pro. Playing off Samuel’s smoothness with some truly lush expressiveness of his own.
Korean Forsythe
Samuel has always been transparent about his desire to simply enjoy life. The lyric video for “GAE NA RI” is as carefree as the lilting tones of the song itself. True neo soul. A cross-section of jazz, R&B, and hip hop reminiscent of Jill Scott and Dwele. Bits of Incognito at the edges where the synths become wavy. Smooth as silk, with a soul that anchors the prettiness of the crooning to something deeper.
It’s good to hear an alto voice (albeit first alto) accompany a male voice. Far too often co-ed collaborations depend on pretty sopranos to create an obvious complement (or foil) to the male vocalist. It’s tedious, predictable, and painfully boring. With Yerin Baek we get a voice that blends with the male lead. She’s not a delicate damsel. She’s a grown woman who sings from the gut. Still lovely. But not fragile.
As a duet, one couldn’t ask for more. Samuel reaches at the top of his full-voice range. The notes are strong, vibrant. He crests at the top without breaking and gives us one of his most vocally powerful performances to date in terms of how steady his notes are. Never faltering and working in perfect concert with his female counterpart.
RED
Then… “RED.” It’s such an intimate piece of music. Every ounce of this song speaks to a very young part of me. That part that remembers listening to old records with my father. The delicate warmth of his lower register. The sweet ease of the music. The two blend like incense and close breath. Like deep purples and blues when the first bits of ink (or dye, as it were) blot daylight from the sky.
I’m thrown back. The balmy twilight of Kool & the Gang’s “Summer Madness.” The sweat-spiced sensuality of Jamiroquai’s “Everyday.” Dare I say? This is Samuel’s most sensual, most intimate piece of music. There’s something so… skin-close about the song. Like a breathy stage whisper (full voiced, but low to suggest privacy in a crowded room). This is lips on the shell of the ear during a slow dance. This is a finger slowly caressing the forearm (innocent in appearance but suggesting something more. Deeper). Oh yes. “RED” will stick to my skin for a while.
One Step Closer…
The EP is short, clocking in at just under 15 minutes. But I don’t feel cheated. It does so much with vocals, composition, delivery in such a small space. It’s a work of art for completely different reasons than last year’s The Misfit. While the LP was an elegant exploration of Samuel’s humanity, D I A L is a snapshot of the… smokier side of the man. The parts that he reveals only every once in a while.
D I A L is vocally Samuel’s strongest offering (from a discography that’s already pretty damn mighty). He sits very snugly in his tenor pocket, letting the lower parts of his register spread and fill the space with warmth, thick air, nighttime things. He continues to talk about getting closer to the artist he wants to be with each release. D I A L is most definitely another step in his evolution. Another nudge ever closer to the vocalist and musician he aspires to be.