SONAR – THE new record from multi-faceted artist Vritra strides across the spectrum of hip hop.

Most of my self-produced music falls closer to the experimental spectrum, but I feel like I’ve never focused on a solid ‘rap’ album

Vritra

It’s strongly influenced by the Los Angeles beat scene and was produced by Leon Sylvers IV.  

Lead single ‘What’s That’ is an energetic bop that serves as the album’s theme tune.

An infectious soul loop underpins Vritra liquid flow, whilst 808s add low end weight.

Impossible to pigeon-hole as merely a rapper, his output across multiple genres is prolific – also listing production, singing and even visual arts on his resume.

When he proclaims: “Kitted down, fitted down from the prose and poise, I’m in the wind, deployed. I left the game in ‘moil, my cup oil,” it’s clear you’re witnessing next-level finesse.  

Second single ‘Closer To God’ is a deeper, jazzier cut, with hypnotic off-kilter drums and a Mobb Deep vocal loop.

Leon Sylvers IV purposely avoids quantised programming in his production, and instead finds comfort in grooves with a human and sometimes unexpected feel, as evident on the skewed beats of ‘Pull’ and ‘Air Raid’.  

Describing the project in his own words, Vritra says, “for me this was one of the most fun to execute.

“Most of my self-produced music falls closer to the experimental spectrum, but I feel like I’ve never focused on a solid ‘rap’ album.

“This is that. I feel like fans of my music wanted that. Leon has been one of my favourite producers for a long time. With him taking control of the production it freed me to focus on flow, style, and rhythm pockets.

“The name Sonar is fitting as well. Makes me think of beams. What made rap interesting to me in the first place was style. This is me beaming that style and putting it on the radar.”     

Leon Sylvers IV adds: “This record has been a long time coming and is very special to me. I’ve always wanted to produce an album, front to back, with a dope artist like Hal (Vritra).

“Hal’s confidence, knack for words and syncopation over my production makes for a unique project.

“We’re emitting our music into the world, measuring how far it reaches and determining where we should go from here. Hence the album title, Sonar.”