The record label Music 4 The Future aka M4TF, is based out of the Washington, DC area, creating original music with the goal to be distinctive in sound. The show is run by G-Note The Artist – a producer, musician, performer, singer and songwriter with a very special creative approach to music. He describes his sound as a mix of soul and electronica, but G-Note The Artist also aims to really create something new, defying the usual categories and genre definitions. The label, and the artist’s motto is: “Keeping it Smooth”. Something that is evident from their releases. After bagging a fair amount of critical acclaim for the release of the track “Unity”, earlier this year, the 10th of August marked the arrival of the brand new vocal track “Keepin It Smooth” by G-Note The Artist.
In many ways, nothing has changed since the previous release. G-Note The Artist’s musical adventures constantly seek out new ground, a place comfortable to revel in – and perfect – within a certain idea. Throughout his songs, the man has consistently chased experimentation, to list his triumphs therein, is needless.
Simultaneously, he never quite leaves the bedrock of soulful, jazzy urban music. Whether he invented what the term “Keeping it Smooth” has come to mean, or perfected it, matters not. The sound would not exist as we know it without his craftsmanship.
G-Note The Artist’s creative momentum has been steady. His ambition untarnished, and essentially perfect. While his audience is spoiled by a constant stream of new and left-field sounds. To over-illustrate all this isn’t to build up a false defense of the artist’s value, but rather, to illuminate a simple fact: G-Note The Artist is always, just one step ahead of his waiting audience.
This is as much an advantage, as it can be an impediment for the artist. Being ahead of the game means that oftentimes listeners may not be ready for what bold music makers like G-Note The Artist are releasing from time to time.
The music to be found on “Keepin It Smooth” is warm, smooth and booming – encouraging thought and inner dialogue, as well as fleeting, subtle changes. Like much of G-Note The Artist’s best work, it gently drifts by, content to be enjoyed as is, but equally capable of challenging.
The deep running basslines, the rattling percussion and the dancing brass stabs are held together by the thumping kick drum and G-Note The Artist’s funky voice which swirls inside an echoing tunnel. Constantly tended to, each moment on the single rewards the listener, as the artist never falls back on comfortable formulas.
It imperative to zone in on “Keepin It Smooth” and let its creativity transmit to your own mind, or to lose yourself within its depths. Then again, this is also the type of music that is both accessible and deeply difficult to understand. To some extent, G-Note The Artist has mastered the balance between the two. Adding vocals to his musical arrangements, as he does here, allows him to reach for a broadness that encompasses many listeners.
Naturally, a genre of soothing notes and layered croons, “Keepin It Smooth” is an easy groove to fall into. G-Note The Artist’s music is something that requires an open mind to really get into, but he knows just how to play it so that it will capture your attention.
