RE-LISTEN: Monsune -‘Tradition’
5th June 2024
My first exposure to Canadian musician Scott Zhang was before he had adopted the moniker ‘Monsune’, when he was uploading incredible Tame Impala covers to his eponymous YouTube channel. These included a blinding mashup of ‘Daffodils’ and ‘The Less I Know The Better’, and a mesmerising cover of ‘Nangs’ (which is somehow 10 times better than the original). These were both since deleted (possibly due to a dreaded copyright strike), but the ‘Nangs’ cover has been re-uploaded by another channel, I highly recommend checking it out …
He was obviously incredibly talented, but a talented Youtube cover musician doesn’t usually make the leap to ‘great musician in their own right’. But Scott did it. First in 2017 with his beautiful masterclass in sampling that is ‘Nothing In Return’, and then in 2019 with ‘Tradition’; an astounding EP of alternative R&B songs.
It wasn’t the usual dirge of bedroom pop or imitation psychedelic indie that so many one-man musical projects churned out in the wake of ‘Currents’. ‘Tradition’ is a stylish blend of sampling, retro R&B and lovesick, soul-searching songwriting. All topped off with absolutely exquisite production.
The pumping opener ‘1998’ (a reference to the year of Zhang’s birth) contains lashings of resampled 90s soul, heavily compressed drums and an infectious melody. It stops and starts, slows down and speeds up, a hugely dynamic composition that takes the listener on a heady emotional ride. ‘CLOUD’ is a bouncy, airy anthem about ridding yourself of bad company, with a vocal melody which recalls the opening refrains of ‘Redbone’ by Childish Gambino.
The centrepiece of the album is the standout single ‘OUTTA MY MIND’. An infectious soul groove based around the skillfully sampled backing vocals of Donny Hathaway’s ‘Love, Love, Love’ and a funky baseline (that somewhat borrows from the guitar lead in Gambino’s ‘Sober’) , the song is an absolute jam and has now amassed over 66 million listens on Spotify.
’MOUNTAIN’ is a hauntingly beautiful ballad with a heartbreaking chorus, sprinkled with guzheng and tape samples. Atmospheric album closer ‘JADE’ is a stunning acoustic coda in E major that builds to a massive crescendo, leaving us wanting more.
And 5 years on, we’re still left wanting. Scott has had great success, applying his talents of production on Drake songs such as ‘Race My Mind’ and ‘Fountains’, and the SZA hit ‘Saturn’. But like many other fans of his solo work, I am holding out hope that he will return one day for a follow-up Monsune project. Tradition was such a work of genius, it seems a great shame to leave us with only one record. Please bless us once more Scott!