From the primary word of Present Location, Nick Marks and his armada of collaborators pull listeners into an aural cosmos the place jazz motifs greet futurism with traditionalism.
Opening Cinematic Chromatics Vol. III, the ultimate instalment of his 3 EP trilogy, Present Location exists in a liminal area the place textures shift like constellations, guiding listeners by a area of gravity shaped by soul, neo-soul, and jazztronica.
Marks has spent the previous two years carving his sonic universe, bridging the underground scenes the place jazz, hip-hop, and electronica collide with filmic grandeur. Since its inception in 2020, Cinematic Chromatics has been heralded for its genre-blurring ingenuity, incomes Marks acclaim from tastemakers and playlist placements, together with Spotify’s Better of Recent Finds Jazz 2024.
Present Location represents the fluidity of place, time, and sound, drawing from Brazilian influences, lo-fi aesthetics, and orchestral sophistication. The observe’s inception got here as Marks walked by Manhattan, melodies forming in response to the rhythms of the town, later fleshed out with electrical bassist CARRTOONS, vibraphonist Chien Chien Lu, and pianist Benjamin Furman.
The soulful but spacey non-lexical vocals harbour accessibility within the combine, reassuring that, regardless of the technical chops underpinning the observe, pretension is absent. That is pure rhythmic expression, permitting listeners to traverse the identical sonic pathways as its creators. The polyphonic tones heighten the groove’s ecstatic zeal, however the crescendos, reaching the epitome of seraphic euphonia, steal the highlight.
Present Location is now accessible to stream on all main platforms, together with Spotify.
Assessment by Amelia Vandergast
