#18 - Harto Falión - "{*______* }" (prod. evilgiane, whitearmor, gud)

I don’t know too much about Harto Falión beyond that he’s affiliated with Surf Gang and he’s one of the best at making anxious rap. Some of it’s written a little on the nose (“panic@the_kickback_”), but the production in his music is otherworldly. The beats are often pensive and dreamy, murky and lucid, abysses of poignant synth and turbo bass that swallow up his weary voice. 

“{*______* }” assembles a holy trinity of left-field rap producers—evilgiane, whitearmor, and gud—to produce what is perhaps the most radiantly nervy beat I’ve heard this year. Bass bombs rain down from the sky as layers of eerie synth swivel and dissipate like ghostly fireflies flashing in and out of your vision. Harto starts without any words, just a series of hums that shine and fade in brightness as parallel layers of whimpers flicker in the background. It sounds transcendental, as though his spirit is rising out of his body and fusing with the spectral beat. 

What sealed the deal for me was the cover art, which feels like some random image Harto had on his phone and was like “errrhmm let’s use this.” It’s a photo of a clear plastic storage box with a desktop propped on it, along with a Razer gaming mouse, a mug of some drink, a tray littered with cigarettes. In other words, a very mundane display, which is a funny juxtaposition with the cosmic sounds coming out of my speakers. That said, there’s something very real about it, the simplicity of the arrangement, the lack of any kind of pose—just this homespun computer setup. It also speaks to the way paranoia and manic depressive states can manifest in the most ordinary settings.

The list:

#25 - Destroy Lonely - “NOSTYLIST”

#24 - elusin - “Elksling”

#23 - skaiwater - “#miles”

#22 - Wednesday - “Bull Believer”

#21 - islurwhenitalk - “pink neon lights”

#20 - Two Shell - “home” & “Memory” (tie)

#19 - Luci4 - “ON GANG”