"Bleu de Chanel" — mikewave

mikewave

Release Date: December 10, 2020

Label: 3:33AM Multimedia Collective

Last April saw the release of the hip-hop and R&B concept album Vitae, a collaborative effort of Washington D.C.-based artists blasé and mikewave. This winter, mikewave returned to the studio to record a new release, “Bleu de Chanel”, which manages to further the same innovative approach to production and composition originally honed on Vitae. In that vein, the track brings a sound that is starkly minimal, yet simultaneously full and robust. Much like “Do I Wanna Know?” from the Arctic Monkeys’ imposing AM, “Bleu de Chanel” combines only a handful of keynote samples that would seem stark and hollow without an expert mixing and mastering session. To boot, it is readily apparent that mikewave carefully and meticulously selected each unique sonic fixing, resulting in a modernized sound that is uniquely his own. The song’s visionary deftly manages to combine “formulaic” and “creative” through an intelligent approach that first strips each song down to its bare elements and only then fortifies it with earcandy like the John Mayer-inspired guitar riff or atmospheric background vocals. Nevertheless, a proper review wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the impressive songwriting behind “Bleu de Chanel”, which takes a self-reflective approach towards exploring the dynamics at the core of one-sided relationships.