Ethan Cronin, Fungai – Mind Painted By Picasso (Single Review)

Once again, I must re-emphasize my penchant for music that fuses multiple genres and influences. As I’ve mentioned before in my reviews, I have seen a correlation between the ability of a person to open themselves up to many different forms of music and the quality of music that results from such an exposition. Music is always a field that is open to interpretation and exploration, and it can be inspired by other forms of art as well, such as visual art or even drama. More so, it turns into a form of enrichment when it combines multiple styles of genres as well as styles- it does not only become an act of novelty, but also an exercise to the brain, a sequence of learning and familiarization.

In today’s review, we will encounter a songwriter named Fungai. Fungai has been writing songs for over 15 years and has collaborated with a wide variety of artists. As most of us in the art world know, many a project can be scrapped due to circumstances or even just roadblocks. As a result, most of Fungai’s repertoire has been unreleased. However, today, we will witness Fungai’s first forage into the world of released music- in the form of an acoustic alternative pop-rock ballad they co-wrote with Ethan Cronin.

In the notes of this particular release, it is mentioned that the duo intended to fuse many genres together, such as lo-fi, rock, folk, and other avant-garde sounds and even ‘oriental’ influenced sounds (which I presume, is possibly pentatonic). As I’ve mentioned in my first paragraph, this is definitely a good sign. It is always a pleasant surprise when an artist merges as many possible genres as they can fluently and competently. Moreover, there is very limited information about the artist(s), which makes this release highly elusive and mysterious. Let’s find out and open pandora’s box in regards to this release.

The vocalist, Ethan Cronin, gives the track more soul with the agony in his delivery. Moreover, the layered harmonies and echo added onto his vocals also make it sound quite ethereal. The lyrics of this song are also quite poignant and interesting, in its analogies and writing.

The song then descends into a slight hip-hop and jazz fusion beat, as the tempo quickens, giving it a fast jazz groove, complemented by the innocence and decadence of the harp in the background. The vocalist’s vocals are layered with even more vocals on top, giving his words more of a punch when delivered towards the chorus. The addition of the acoustic guitar within this segment also gives the song an acoustic charm, and even though it is extremely multi-layered, it does not clash at all.

Another quirk in this song I can definitely point out is the slight glockenspiel/xylophone-esque instrument in the build-up of instruments during the chorus. It adds a cute boost to the song with its short envelope, as the rest of the instruments in the track have a long envelope in terms of attack, sustain, decay and release. Interestingly, at the mark at 3:25, the song switches trajectory in its break with a deep bass almost reminiscent of 90s R&B tracks or even tracks from George Michael in his later years. The strong vocal delivery and return to the acoustic soundscape does remind me a lot of ‘Faith’ by George Michael. However, with the hyperinstrumental style of this song, it is as if that original style had been upgraded.

Overall, this song was immensely contemplative, passionate, and earnest in its delivery. It has accents of genius throughout its songwriting, composition as well as delivery, but the timbre of the song really sticks out to me. It is a song by which you can definitely ‘feel’ what it intended to convey to you. It is also very tender, by the mode of some of the acoustic instruments used in this song. The addition of the glockenspiel/xylophone motif also adds a spark of innocence to the necessary harshness of the vocals, making it harmonically quite balanced.

For artists who are pretty elusive when it comes to how much available information is out there about their artistry, I’d say this track shows how highly competent they are. I hope they release more official tracks as if this track is a preview to their total portfolio, they surely are artists to look out for.

Rating/Excellent – ‘Mind Painted By Picasso’ is an extremely well-crafted song that makes use of the principle of multi-genre musicality quire well, and merges many different aspects of instrumentation together to create a masterpiece that is contemplative, passionate as well as earnest in its delivery. It definitely speaks to my musical preferences. A highly recommended track.

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