South Londoner Greentea Peng vibrates a little differently from the rest of us. Genuinely – her debut album was purposely recorded at 432Hz (and not the industry standard 440) because of the frequency’s much-discussed soothing properties.
Within lies a hazy miasma of jazz, righteous reggae, easy-going hip-hop and vintage neo-soul in which the echo effects of dub and the swirl of psychedelia hand off to skitters of drum’n’bass. “Krishna and Jah” keep watch over the recording studio.
Anchoring all these inputs and 18 producers is Aria Wells herself – her voice, featherlight even in anger, weary in the best way – and her concerns. Free My People is self-explanatory. “Babylon, won’t play your game,” she sings on Maya, a standout. Suffer is a succinct track about the commonality of suffering, built on an elegant little recurring arpeggio.
Atmospheres, healing and processing society’s messages are the point here, rather than hits. But Wells doesn’t lack for tunes, which ebb in and out. Dingaling in particular distils Greentea Peng’s essence into an accessible form. Man Made can veer towards aimlessness and self-parody – “Eat some shrooms,” Wells sings, ruining the jazz piano vibes on Party Hard Interlude. But the overarching charms of this record aren’t overly diminished.
