SafeNSound Keep It Real On ‘nine ta five bluez’

Chicago by-way-of St Louis duo, safeNsound have been consistent in releasing and creating tunes that firmly establishes their hybrid sound. Their latest release ‘nine ta five bluez’ is one a bunch of millennials across the world can relate to.

safeNsound are operating in this hybrid-musical space where they blend hip-hop, R&B and deep house. These two first slipped under my radar back in December last year, when their debut release ‘If You Cared’ found its way into my inbox. ‘If You Cared‘ sampled Blackstreet’s classic R&B joint, ‘Don’t Leave Me’, and transformed it into a deep-house, future R&B-sounding track. It was one that had me two stepping all day long. Since then, the duo has kept it consistent, popping up in my inbox again, which is dope because it didn’t allow me to forget them. In January, I got a link to a track called ‘I Wish‘ which was a safeNSound take of Carl Thomas’ hit by the same name. Then February comes, and again, in my inbox, there was a link to the aptly released Valentine’s Day track ‘Changed My Number‘, which not only was the perfect tune for all those heartbroken, still trying to get ex-bae’s attention, and even going as far to change their mobile phone number.

Three tracks deep and I had already had a very good idea of the sound and style of safeNsound. The recognisable “you are now safe and sound” tag at the beginning of their tracks, the glitzy production and originality – to both remixes and original tracks – is something rare when new music is as common as government juice. Plus, they blend hip-hop, R&B and incorporate a fair amount of house vibes into their music, which, if you’re as flippant as me, means they’ll be on your Friday night turn up playlist and the soundtrack to your solo jamming sessions.

Together, with both AmbI Lyrics and L.A. VanGogh on production duties and L.A. VanGogh on lyrics, the pair are gearing up for the debut EP, ‘safeNsound presents L.A. VanGogh’. ‘nine ta five bluez’ has this scarily relatable context, all too familiar with millennials; paying bills, not having any money left, but at the same time not giving a fuck. It’s liberating right? L.A. VanGogh displays his versatility as an artist, both singing and rapping, in a style that is positively Chicago, rapping in both double and triple time. Again, the production doesn’t disappoint, blending traditional hip-hop bass in the verses then switching it up on the hook with mellow R&B vibes.

A couple of weeks back; one Sunday afternoon (or Sunday morning for the Chicago dwellers) I woke the pair from their slumbers to find out more about them, both individually and collectively. AmbI Lyrics is DJ for fellow Chicago singer Via Rosa, who provided the vocals for safeNsounds first original release ‘the1thingiknohow2do‘, and L.A. VanGogh sheds light on the pair’s future plans. Together, the pair has this dope energy, and you can certainly hear that in their music. Check it out in #InitiationSessions on Radar Radio, and of course, check out the rest of their tunes via their soundcloud.

While they gear up for the release of their debut EP, it’s safe to say the pair know their sound and where they want it to go,  all they need to do is continue to release great music, push the genre boundaries, and most importantly, have fun with it.

We always say it, but keep your ears peeled on them.