Crayon ft. Yame and Tora – Home Safe (2024)
A trailblazing figure in the Parisian music scene, producer Crayon is an eclectic musical alchemist bringing experimental, unconventional sounds to the masses. The bedroom project of Parisian illustrator Lauren, Crayon saunters through various genres creating symphonic concoctions from RnB, soul, jazz and electronica. While Crayon might be new to my ears, he is not a newbie to the industry. Features in international publications, airtime on global radio stations, and collaborations with international artists captivate audiences far beyond his French borders.
Following the 2022 collaborative single, ‘Un Homme’ – featuring Walk In Paris, Lossapardo, Lonely Band and Gracie Hopkins – Crayon returns with ‘Home Safe’. Co-produced with Fred Deces (mastering), the new track is most easily described as avant-garde, just another word for inimitable and indefinable. Simplistic and soothing in a way, the music carries you along a silvery sonic river; however, just as there is smoothness in the melody, tumultuous waves twirl beneath with sinister intent.
Sophisticated, yes, but also brimming with raw vulnerability, ‘Home Safe’ is an ebb and flow of crass and comforting. Minimalistic, each instrument pecks at the melody enhancing its slightly disconcerting quality. Plinks of Crayon’s piano and synths match Samuel Fhima’s bass; Ingo Fischmann’s guitars slide along as Vincent Tortiller’s drums pulsate in the background. Sergio Hirsch swoops in with the strings, while Yame and Tora’s vocals bind the track with a mystical aura.
Potentially the most thrilling thing about Crayon’s new single is its energy. Barebones and stark, but with a kaleidoscopic sheen, ‘Home Safe’s obscurity intricately weaves music with concept. When speaking about ‘Home Safe’, Crayon explains:
“It’s about reconnecting with all the music I found comfort in, the sound and smell of the fire in our little suburban home outside Paris with my stepdad’s folk records in the background and the clandestine jazz gatherings every Sunday twenty years later during the second lockdown… Creating this music allowed me to reflect on the past and present, to cope with what was happening and ultimately to find acceptance, peace, and quietness of the mind.”
In addition to the single, Crayon released an official music video for ‘Home Safe’. You can view the video below or on Erased Tapes YouTube channel.
Find out more about Crayon on his Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
Listen to more avant-garde music on The Other Side Reviews Avant Garde playlist:
