JOEL CHRISTIAN - DARK MAGIC
Rosie shares her thoughts on the debut Joel Christian release, Dark Magic, and lets you know whether she thinks you should listen or not.
Based in L.A, singer, stylist and performer, Joel Christian launches himself into the spotlight with his debut, Dark Magic. Since writing music from as young as 14 years old, Christian has explored his identity through a variety of mediums throughout the entertainment industry and used them to create this 7-track album. Dark Magic contains the full works. Eccentric and fluorescent yet mysterious visuals accompany the tracks in both photos and videos as well as containing influences from various electronic genres which has allowed him to craft his own.
Beginning with title song ‘Dark Magic’, an introductory track to set the theme with layered harmonised vocals and a soft melody and dramatic strings that feed into ‘You Know What You Did’. Packing a punch with distorted vocals “I don’t believe you when every night is a different lie” and a mysterious melody, heavy bass line with various electronic sound effects in the background. Contagious and intriguing, ‘You Know What You Did’ really makes the album pop so far.
‘Hell Raiser’ opens with a huge bass drop and various sounds of cars and motorbikes alongside loud distorted voices speaking before a thumping bass line comes back, like some of the features found in the likes of Hollywood Undead and Pendulum. Living up to its name, ‘Hell Raiser’ is the ultimate track to kick off the night and makes a lasting impression. Studying pop culture ‘to the extreme’ as Christian puts it, he has pushed himself to be a virtual artist creating something special and unique not only for himself, but for his fans too.
The album then seems to change its course almost entirely with funky, disco-esque tracks like ‘Rise From The Grave’ which is a personal favourite. “It was such a vulnerable song for me to write about my battle with crippling anxiety and fear of being myself. My creativity was my savior…” He expresses.
With the most listens on Spotify out of all of the tracks it’s clear it made a big impression on fans. The melody is light-hearted and uplifting while the lyrics portray what the anxiety is telling him and making him feel “got chills down my spine, feel alone in the night”, to emphasise that you can overcome anxiety.
‘Gemini’ and ‘Take My Picture’ also take a similar stance with robotic vocals that repeat certain lines. Bringing 80s and early 00s clubland influences back on the scene, Joel Christian also fits a niche gap between Daft Punk and Krawfwerk while simultaneously appealing to other types of pop music. Wanting to explore that further, Christian is on the lookout for collaborations in the future. “I would love to work with Kim Petras… incredibly innovative. She is such an icon to the LGBTQ community, and I think we would have a lot of fun writing a record together”, he told Street Wave Media.
Dark Magic is a fascinating album with lots going on, an interesting combination of sounds, vocal techniques and layered melodies. Some of the disco tracks towards the end of the album are a bit too cheesy for personal taste however, that is compensated with how the album presents itself as a whole. Funky and danceable, Christian has certainly made himself noticeable with this debut.
Rosie Chalk
★★★★☆