Numero – Nuvfr (Single Review)

The world of Gen Z and Alpha-oriented is constantly changing. The tides of youth arrive, crashing into multiple waves, leading to the birth of multiple revivalist genres with a fresh and completely novel take on it. Being that we are possibly the first generation for full or even absolute integration with technology contrasting our evolution in this world, as growing entities, the troves of inspiration that spark these generations tend to be more forward-facing and cyber-oriented. Take the styles of frutiger aero or frutiger metro re-emerging as aesthetic preferences as well as a form of paying homage to it.

These two aesthetics, in their heyday of the 2000s to late 2000s/early 2010s, were seemingly infused with digital infotainment. Most forms of media such as phones, desktop computers, or digital advertorials involved these aesthetics. As it goes when it comes to art, where there are visuals, there is music. It is always a form of holistic expression to morph visuals with sound, as that is how we perceive reality for the most part- visuals and sounds go hand-in-hand. Just as how technological limits draw the lines for how advanced a piece of art could be, the technological limits of a time period also draw the lines for how futuristic sound can be.

In today’s review, we dive back to the Frutiger metro aesthetic of the late 2000s to the early 2010s through sound. It is characterised by slight musical tones taken from various budding electronic soundscapes of the early 2000s, furthering the narrative of futurism and merging the intersection between time as well as anticipatory futurism. Take today for contrast, where for the most part, a lot of mainstream electronic music sounds pretty tribal compared to some songs that were made in 2007- the positive attitude towards the future gave artists the methodological freedom to want to sound more futuristic, playing with various synthesizers, compared to the fatalism surrounding these days. Moreover, producers and aesthetes who adopt the frutiger metro aesthetic tend to be this current time period’s ‘youth majority’ between the ages of 15-25, possibly also due to it being the predominant aesthetic of their formative years. In fact, I recognise it as a crucial aesthetic for my formative years.

Numero by Nuvfr is a track that definitely takes you back to those years, or even re-ignites an old aesthetic to turn it into a new one, by reimagining how the past would’ve sounded today.

The song starts off with dramatic and distant cymbals, characteristic of the ‘anticipation’ that a lot of electronic music tracks used to embody in the intro of their songs back then. It immediately reminds me of the feel of discovering something new and epic, yet it being so ancillary compared to the reality of how technologically forward today is compared to then.

The intentional lowering of the quality of the song, even though a clearer, more remastered version is available, actually gives the track more of a depth metaphorically as well as literally- in terms of metaphor, it is very reminiscent of how ‘low quality’ uploads on YouTube used to sound, or even a low-quality mp3 recording. in terms of a literal understanding, the lowered quality actually amplifies the bass component of the song, giving it a ‘depth’ as compared to when the rest of the instruments are as clear.

Syncopated synthesizers play in a rounded-fashion, oscillating between the tone of futuristic pads, domination and advancement. The hypersaw in the background is a main component of popular music in the umbrella category of frutiger metro, but I must point out- when stylistically done, as the South Africans currently do with amapiano and its many variants, it doesn’t necessarily have to sound outdated. In this case, the ‘outdated’ness is an intentional stylistic choice, which amplifies the track.

The use of certain types of synthesizers in this song definitely sound more futuristic. This is what I mean when I say that certain songs from the past embody more elements of futurism compared to songs of today. When you browse through a catalogue of synthesizers from the time period of ’05 to even as late as perhaps 2010, the use of softer, technological sounds were used in a higher frequency.

This song definitely does a great job at characterising the audio motif or feel of frutiger metro itself. I could see this being the soundtrack to a Club Penguin or a Stardoll game that I would’ve played in 2009. However, as much as nostalgia is a prized element in a lot of artistry these days, I find the new quirks people put on it the icing on the cake: take for example, the way breakcore technically rehashes elements from drum ‘n’ bass and breakbeat but puts a completely new depth on it.

The predictability of the track definitely ruins it, if you intend to listen to it more than once. This song really appealed to me when I first listened to it, but the more I listened to it, the more it lessened its appeal. However, this is the first attempt (as far as I know) to rehash frutiger metro’s sound in a stylistic fashion. Perhaps with more time, it would be expanded into its own new genre, with more musical variation to keep the listener hooked.

Isn’t it crazy how if you live long enough, the things you think are of the past will eventually come back to you?

Rating/Good– ‘Numero’ is an actually decent attempt at trying to recreate the ident of a design movement that has come back to the mainstream from the past, called metro frutiger. It is excellent in its attempt to sound exactly like what it used to sound like, but the lack of musical variation makes it hard for me to allow it to stand out- especially if technicality supersedes nostalgia for me.

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