[Review] STÖÖKI SOUND BRING THE BEATS WITH THEIR DEBUT EP, ÖSIRIS

Stööki Sound have had a big year. In their own words, "From touring the world, to launching our new label, Ö.N.E Worldwide, it’s been mad.” The British duo (Jelacee and DJ Lukey) were inspired by the Egyptian God, Osiris, who is the God of transition, resurrection and regeneration. “To us, this EP represents a new Stööki Sound, and marks the point at which we have matured and furthered our sound.” Although this is their first EP, Stööki Sound have been around for a while playing live around the world. Releasing this EP on their own label, Stööki Sound are making a statement that they know what good music is, they can make it to listen to at any time, not just in a live environment. Challenges usually come from artists having trouble transitioning from recording to a live set, so perhaps this reverse journey will go in Stööki Sound’s favour. With their well-curated and humble combination of electronic, grime and hip hop, a think they’ve got a good chance of sticking around.

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We start by gently dipping our toe in the water with Revive, but swiftly move onto Hear That. This was actually the first song I heard and immediately knew it was a banger. P Money is one of my favourite grime artists in the game right now, not to mention waiting patiently for his hyped album Live + Direct dropping 25th November (and so should you)! Jelacee and P Money make a good team on this track, the first from Stööki Sound with original rap lyrics, gliding over the duo’s beats with such a nice flow that you can’t help chair dancing if you’re sitting down. The hook is very reminiscent of the grime scene at the moment, and the sentiment of disallowing beg friends is one we can all relate to, MC or not.

[Review] STÖÖKI SOUND BRING THE BEATS WITH THEIR DEBUT EP, ÖSIRIS

This is followed by Endz, which I can only describe as a Bollywood infused-trap-grime beat. It’s definitely bass-y but because of the strings element out front, it’s not too heavy. You could imagine this under a variety of vocals – from American hip hop to grime to UK rap.

Back to lyrics (which honestly I prefer) we hear Jelacee killing it again on My G’s. We’re definitely bringing up the tempo with an even catchier hook than we get in Hear That, but with the same message of essentially, ‘no new friends’. One of my favourite lines has to be, “My crew ain’t from New Zealand but if it’s all black then we’ll probably wear it” – this immediately made me feel nostalgic for the grime scene and all it represents (listen to Shutdown from Skepta if you don’t get the all black ref https://soundcloud.com/skepta/shutdown).

Exodus is next and we’re almost getting into a house vibe. But then the melody comes in and it’s distinctively faster pace and more interesting than any house track I’ve heard (disclaimer: I’m not about house music). It builds nicely, never going too upbeat but it does climax and has some cute adlibs that are a welcome surprise.

The EP ends with Survive, which rounds of the EP story given that we started with Revive. This is almost a continuation of Exodus but with a distinctive ‘winding down’ feel. About a minute from the end the track breaks down into something that sounds almost gospel-like. It actually makes you feel like it’s portraying the end of someone’s life; the way it slows down in a jarring manner and then completely stops, after a flurry of activity beforehand (even though the name suggests otherwise).

[Review] STÖÖKI SOUND BRING THE BEATS WITH THEIR DEBUT EP, ÖSIRIS

Ösiris feels like Stööki Sound are saying something like, “We know that we’re good at this, and we’re actually really, really good at this. But we’re just giving you a taste of what we can do for now because we’re new to this EP thing and what we’ll give you later is going to blow your mind.” I truly believe that Stööki Sound are going to drop something pretty spectacular in the next year or so, with the same mix of witty lyricism and pure beat tracks, all produced with a narrative in mind and a killer instinct for what people want to hear.

If you’re in North America, definitely try and catch Stööki Sound on tour somewhere near you: Ösiris North America Tour | bandsintown.com/stookisound