He directs music videos and she is a physiotherapist. They haven't been making music for all that long. A song here or there, an EP in 2017. In 2019, they decided to make a real go at it. Their aim is to release five projects by 2021. It sounds fairly ambitious and I like it. Their first submission in this series is an EP called Observatory. And it's awesome. But before I spoil it all for you, let's dive in!
If you had to classify Saavan, they might fall under downbeat electronic. Lots of ethereal and atmospheric components that provide a super chill sound. Their voices compliment each other so well with neither having to take lead. It's the definition of harmonious, which I find is somewhat rare with duos.
While their new music is more produced and slightly more refined, their first EP was by no means an amateur hour project. Slow is really well put together for an initial offering. The overall feel of the EP is very chill, but there are still driving up tempo songs like "When You Fall." What I really like is the vibe they are going for, whether I am chilling at home or driving down the QE2 highway, I can appreciate having this EP on.
If I had to pick a favourite song on the album, it would be "Flown." It has really atmospheric spacey vibe and the xylophone-like sounds in the beat are super cool. The title track "Slow" is definitely a close second with some pretty solid lyrics, especially applicable with this quarantine life we are all living right now.
Go slow, watch your mind It won't be easy, I think you can reach it Go slow, hopes don't die Won't leave you in here, won't leave you in here Go slow, watch your mind It won't be easy, I think you can reach it
With their new EP Observatory, Saavan stayed true to the sound they started with, but got better. I find there are two schools of thought among artists: we need to do something completely different, or we need to perfect what we started doing. This is the latter for sure. The EP is chalked full of laid back beats, but in a way there is much more to them. Layers. Like an onion.
The main difference for me is these new songs feel slightly more upbeat overall. In my opinion, I would assume they want to take the next step in their musical careers and have their music be approachable to a wider audience. This generally means radio play, and while you would think there would need to be sacrifices in their sound to do this, Saavan toes the line perfectly to produce songs like "Young Minds" which is quite catchy. I appreciate the different instruments hidden in the background that add a lot of dimension to this song.
The cool thing about Observatory is that it all flows together like one cohesive project, using atmospheric and synth sounds to transition between songs. It's really hard to pick a favourite. Each song offers something different. Gun to my head, I would have to go with "Time." What I really like about it and what makes it stand out on the album, is the big booming sounding portions of the song where they use what sounds like electronic brass instruments.
I'm excited for whats to come. I love Saavan and their sound. From what they are saying on their Facebook page, this quarantine situation could have us see more music from them soon. So that's a positive. Check out both their EP's on Apple Music or Spotify and let me know what you think!
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