Really Fun Songs

Adzil

Album review by Thomas

Published

Really Fun Songs cover art

There's something quite endearing about Really Fun Songs, a short electronic EP by Indonesian producer Adzil. Endearing and familiar. I love FruityLoops (or FL Studio as it's now called, presumably in a bid to either sound more professional or legally separate itself from a cereal brand or both), and I feel like I've got a pretty good ear for what it sounds like when someone is in the process of learning what a magical piece of software it is. I could well be wrong but I would bet money, like maybe ten pounds, on this EP being made with FruityLoops.

See, it's not just the way the music sounds, but it's how it's structured. The opening track Point One consists of a set of synth riffs that gradually layer on top of each other, all backed by a satisfyingly punchy distorted beat. It's very pretty, with synths twinkling above a bed of bassy hums. It's repetitive too, but not necessarily in a way that I think works against it.

Two Fun Dots is a bit more interesting to me though. The opening moments seemed to find the resonate frequency of my lungs, and the drums build up and cut out in a way that feels a lot more intentional to my ears than in the previous track. I should note that these tracks were originally more ambient, but Adzil added the drums after feeling like they lacked energy. That was a wise move, I think, and it's kind of hard to imagine this song in particular existing without the drums.

The high point for me is No/isy. Yes, it starts off with the same four bar loops layered on top of each other like the tracks before it, but where it shines is from the moment it breaks free from that structure. Tribal drums accompany static hums and build into this big scary wall of sound, and it's awesome. Despite being the longest track here, it's the one that really flew by - it's a real highlight.

Adzil caps things off with the short and sweet Ambient Thingy, an apt title indeed. They claim in the notes that the EP is called "Really Fun Songs" because they had such a fun time making them, and I'm glad they did. I suspect that they are fairly early in their musical journey, backed up by this being the only release on their page, and if that's the case I think it's a strong start and I'd be really interested to hear what sorts of things they cook up in the future.

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Comments

Thank you Thomas! I really appreciate the detailed review of each track and the EP as whole.To be honest, i made this EP on Bandlab because i haven't made much money to buy a laptop and FL studio itself and on Bandlab there isn't really much to tweak in there so i just try as best as i can to explore the preset there. I'm also planning to make my debut album on Bandlab with the hopes that it'll not sound like someone's exploring an amazing software. Once again, thanks for the review Thomas! Cheers.

written by Adzil

Oh Bandlab, I've never used that one! I'm probably showing my age a bit with the FLStudio thing, you used to be able to use it for free but you couldn't save your project without paying, so I'd have to make tracks entirely in one session and then export them. Definitely looking forward to hearing your album when it's done, don't forget to post it here!

written by Thomas