George Clanton – Ooh Rap I Ya (Album Review)

In the realm of electronic music, George Clanton is one of the genre’s more interesting characters. From vapor-wave to synth-pop, Clanton has always found a way to mold the direction his music takes according to his vision. After five years, he finally released a new solo album – Ooh Rap I Ya.

Prior to the release of Clanton’s new project, I had listened to his vaporwave album Virtua.zip, which he released under the moniker ESPRIT 空想. I had also listened to bits of his 2018 record Slide, which I made sure to relisten before writing the review. Overall, I can say that I have an understanding of Clanton’s style, as wildly different as those two albums are. Even so, the difference became more apparent when I began to listen to Ooh Rap I Ya.

The album starts off with “Everything I Want”, which will end up defining the sound of the record. The best way to describe what I hear is a wall of these nicely textured, atmospheric synths. “I Been Young” does this even better, also including great percussion elements that tie everything together; I also found the song to have the best chorus.

While the album is more-or-less meant to induce a state of calmness with its production, there are also times when it picks up a bit in intensity. “Justify Your Life” does have some of those cool vibes with its fantastic melody, but the beat almost makes you want to get up and move. “Punching Down” further increases the intensity with its beat and warping synths. The second half of “Vapor King/SubReal” compliments the first with its switch-up that increases the pace of the song.

The title track builds up a great atmosphere and it would have been my favorite song if it weren’t for the one that came next. “For You, I Will” was perfectly placed to finish the album, featuring these high synths and Hatchie’s vocals that make the song infectious, even though she repeats one simple line.

As few as they may be, there were some low points that I found on the record. While I did like the production on “Punching Down”, I found the lyrics to be very amateurish and the melody to be boring. The two-part “Vapor King/SubReal” is very good, but too repetitive for the length that it held. “F.U.M.L.” was a song I didn’t like at all, with a decent but repetitive instrumental and a feature from Neggy Gemmy that added nothing to the experience.

In regards to Clanton’s vocals, it’s a little complicated. After listening to this project and Slide, it’s obvious that Clanton isn’t a very talented vocalist, but I don’t think that matters in this case. Since his music is very atmospheric, with the production taking the forefront in every song I’ve listened to, it makes sense as to why Clanton incorporates his vocals in such a low-key way. So even though the vocal work in this record isn’t the best, it’s perfect in the way it compliments the music, giving a nice flavor to it.

Here are my ratings for each song on a scale of 0-4:

1. Everything I Want – 3
2. Justify Your Life – 4
3. Punching Down – 2
4. I Been Young – 4
5. You Hold the Key and I Found It – 4
6. Vapor King/SubReal – 3
7. F.U.M.L. (featuring Neggy Gemmy) – 1
8. Ooh Rap I Ya – 4
9. For You, I Will (featuring Hatchie) – 4

SCORE/Good: I’ve been getting more into electronic music in the past few weeks, most especially vaporwave, so taking a dive into George Clanton’s work was a great way to further explore the genre. With little expectations and a sense of unpredictability, I believe Clanton delivered with this record. Most of all, it shows how he continues to evolve as an artist, and I look forward to hearing more.

[We rank singles on a scale of: Poor, Mediocre, Good, Excellent, Outstanding]