Randevyn
SolTrain
Solville Musik
Randevyn is the kind of man you’d take home to the ‘rents. He’s religious but not overt, polite yet sassy, motivated and has a hell of an impressive baritone. Hailing from Atlanta, a city built on krunk but slowly giving way to southern soul, he is yet another musical juggernaut to lay claim to this town, joining the ranks of India.Arie and P.J. Morton. Working among this hub of brilliant minds, Randevyn has forged his own niche manifest in his debut album, documenting his efforts to break into the music business while making ends meet.
SolTrain lays down a testament right from its first self-titled track, a dedication to passion for soul music that blends hip hop, R&B, jazz and gospel over a fresh beat that I personally guarantee will keep you from sitting still. After a funky sample and some rich flow from MCs Cascius and Jahalla, plus a brief interlude, the ballad “DearFarah” reveals one of the prime moments on the album, an ode to a necessary break-up revealing the sensitive side of this aspiring bard. Other highlights include the acoustic track “MissinYou” and “LaghNKry,” another addition to the library of songs most guys wish they could write to woo girls if only they were smooth enough to bust lines like: “Baby, it ain’t that you’re flawless, you’re perfect for me.”
Often, his gospel roots are brought out through songs like “We Had a Talk.” Both skits, which sport clean, almost boring humor, but never fail to describe this style of singing as kind of a “church thing” (direct quote). However, this vibe also serves as an undercurrent for the rest of the album. The album material itself is at times unbalanced, but in compensation Randevyn blows his vocal chords of gold inside out. In the end, this record’s intrigue lies not in catchy songs and punch lines, but through a skilled craft fueled by pure love and interest in music, a theme that surfaces through various lyrical interpretations.
If it hasn’t been mentioned yet, soul singing is in. TV on the Radio flirts with it, especially when it comes to their cover of the Pixies “Mr. Grieves,” and Black Mountain definitely cops the genre in their own fashion. Most recently, Indie Rockstars Antony and the Johnsons barged straight in, embracing soul with a voice that could melt silver, yet disguising it behind a rock beat, and dropped the jaws of jaded hipsters around the world. Basically, this man, in his own words, “was born to sing” and shows it through an impressive display of both a natural sense of harmony and huge lungs. Definitely a worthy choice to further hone one’s faux universal music taste.
