When I started this blog, I wanted to write about artists that I knew nothing about to get out of my listening comfort zone. Not gonna lie… it was a little hard. I started with a random Spotify playlist. As I was listening, the song Why You Wanna by TAM and Noah Klein caught my attention. It caught my attention because TAM’s voice is very strong and the way the song blended her voice with the groovy guitar just gave off such a nice vibe. However, I stopped the track when I heard a stronger deeper male voice mid-track. I was confused because I thought Giveon was featured on this track. To my surprise, I was listening to Noah Klein. This song was my first introduction to Noah Klein.
After this realization, I went to his Spotify profile and listened to his single pickmeupin1cabriolet. After a quick listen, I decided: this is the one. I’m going to write about Noah Klein’s music. I truly do think that his work deserves to be known.
So far, based on my digging and poking, Noah Klein is a German artist and producer based in Berlin. He is signed to Cascade Records, a French record label that specialized on Chill Lofi Hip Hop Beats. Based on the first few songs that I listened to, the first impression of him was that his voice was a mix of Giveon and James Blake with more experimental and spacey beats instead of traditional or pop r&b. He has two EPs that are out: Seasons (2017) and Reflections (2020). I will spend some time summarizing my reactions to these EPs and the evolution that I have observed based on a quick listen.
Seasons (EP 2017)
The EP starts with the song Twentytwo. TwentyTwo is a simple track with a minimalistic beat and guitar riff and softly whispered lyrics. It almost sounds a bit like folk music but not quite. This track really sets the somber and lonely mood for the whole EP.
Radiant Lights seems to loop a guitar at a weird spot which makes that beat awkward. When I first listened to it, I almost skipped the song. The awkwardness seems to vanish as the beat begins to become more complex with a build up. It was cool when he says “kinda goes away” and the guitar loop goes away midtrack. There is a lull in the song and then the guitar loop comes back along with more sounds and instruments making the listener expect a build up and a need to release the tension. After more listens, I must say that this song really grew on me.
The song Shadow has soft pop that sounds like a metronome. The song picks up speed. It almost sounds like the faucet leaking or something. I really enjoyed the melody in this song when the track picks up. The track seems very spacey mostly because there seem to be a lot of sounds that just echoes in the song. I think the extensive echoey sounds are probably the reason why I kept getting the feeling of loneliness while listening to this song.
Cold is funny to me because both Shadow and Cold start the songs with their respective titles. Also, these tracks seem to start simple which might make it hard for some listeners with short attention spans to be motivated to stay thru the song. However for listeners that do stay, Noah Klein seems to reward these listeners by switching up and adding more to the track mid track. Personally, I really enjoy guitar and bass sounds so I liked the instrumentals on this particular track.
Boy is filled with soft melancholic sounds. Although I did not pay much attention to the lyrics (I could not find lyrics online and I have bad hearing when it comes to listening to words), this track evokes the feeling of remembering childhood and regret. The soft humming was a nice touch.
Reflections (EP 2020)
This EP starts off with Hyper Real Love which off the bat sounds different than with more punchy beats. I didn’t really dig the intro but it is a change of pace from the first EP. This track seems more lively and lighter. There is a part where somebody raps and tries to sound like playboy carti with pitched-up vocals. I really enjoyed Noah Klein’s voice in this song mostly because it seems like he committed more to the low deep vocals which really make his art stand out. Almost sort of like a mix of James Blake and Giveon.
The track Reflections has a repeating snippet of higher pitched vocals. Kinda like chipmunk-like then that’s disrupted by a low bass sound. The track seems very experimental. I enjoyed his unaltered vocals. Personally, this song is one of those songs that grows on you after a few listens. He sings: “I can be the one you’ve lost just look into the mirror.” From my perspective, it seems like he’s talking about reflecting about how he’s lost and refound himself by looking into the mirror and reflecting on past mistakes.
Noah Klein himself explains the creation and personal meaning of this song in a self released interview. In the interview, he explains that he knows that people either hate or love that pitchy stuff. I thought that this artistic move was smart. He really doesn’t care to please the listener but instead focuses on creating a reaction from the listener. He also gives us insight into his creative process and how most of his songs start with piano and build up. This tiny nugget of insight really makes sense on why a lot of his songs seem to start slow and then build up. He is literally trying to show the listener just how the song is created and formed as the track plays.
Even Though She Actin Up is an interesting track because the chords for the chorus sound very similar to Toro y Moi’s Monte Carlo. I wonder if this was done on purpose or just by accident.
Sentimental has a lot ethereal and spacey background sounds. I liked the way that he says senti… men tal! Like a pause before finishing the word. Vibey track based on the spacey and echoey sounds. Again, reminded me about James Blake a lot and made me wonder if he considers James Blake an influence. The end of this track is a bit chaotic. The background sounds like an offbeat organ or something. I really liked the lyric “Aint nobody else paint the picture like you do….” I thought it was a very cute lyric and delivery in the song.
The EP ends with the track Cassettes which was a higher energy track. Nice 808s. The track also included a nice verse performed by artist Souly. This track was probably my favorite out of the whole EP. In general I really enjoyed this EP and the album art was really representative of the project.
Ultimately, Noah Klein really has evolved based on my listening to his EP from 2017 and 2020. His new singles are a lot more ear-catchy. There is more energy while still keeping that classic smoothness. It’s like he found the perfect mix to add the soul and somberness from Seasons and combine with the upbeat and energy of Reflections. I’m excited to listen to more of his music and his collaborations. I think he definitely is perfecting and tuning his unique sound! Please stream his newest project: after3nogoodcomes2me. Thanks for tuning in.