First look at Shiy and you can tell straight away there isn’t a lot of information about him knocking about. His bio on Spotify reads one line “ 17 year old instrumental hip-hop and jazz producer from Iowa”, that’s it, as far as he is concerned that’s all you need to know. And you know what maybe it is. It’s refreshing these days to have a air of mystery around an artist and to solely let the music do the talking.
Now, you might think maybe there is not much written about Shiy on his bio because like a lot of new pop-up producers he is brand spanking new to the game. But the truth is he has been around a little while. He already has a few albums to his name and for someone so young you can see a lot of promise in his capabilities. Rather than talk about his latest track “Nothatbad” which for the most part is pretty self explanatory, it’s not that bad! It’s a solid Jay Dilla sounding instrumental. It’s infectious, its fun, bright and hopeful. While listening you can imagine yourself pottering about whistling along. It is a nice, nostalgic little number and would be a good addition to any Spotify playlist.
But what I was most impressed by was Shiy’s discography as a whole. His past releases sound quite different than his most recent album- ‘Autumnal’, and this variety really shows the full scope of the young producer. Each release has something to offer, and show a kind of creative maturity and skill of the craft. It’s the sort of atmosphere you’d expect to hear on a beloved old dusty Jazz LP. If you are a fan of beats that can give you real moments of musicality and melancholy within the realm of Jazz, Motown and Blues then be sure to check out Shiy.
Support his recent release ‘Autumnal’ over on Bandcamp
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