Hyper Lion
B OK
Hyper Lion is the brain child and product of an LA based composer who’s originally from the UK. He and Kidd Wolff make up the duo, Pariis Opera House, (perhaps you’ve heard DRAGNDROP) and have been quite successful over the past ten years with a host of sync licenses for TV and film over here, and across the pond. Hyper grew up on guitar and got his start composing and crafting with a 4-track and a host of beat up gear he’d buy online. You’d never know that was the case by listening to the tracks of this project Kionkidink, which in many respects is an experimental and synth based electronic jazz record.
This track, B Ok, is the easily the poppiest on the project. If you grew up listening to synth bands like Yaz, Erasure, and New Order you’re going to hear some familiar tones - and then you need to throw in some Art of Noise, Eels and 80’s drum tones. This could easily be a club hit, a Top 40 song, and the perfect sync add - it’s a really cool ride that hits on a few genre’s. If you’re a tone freak, producer or even a synth hobbyist, this is right up your alley. Here’s our review.
Love the all start. Hyper kicks it off with a drum machine vibe, high rez vibrato synth taking the lead line and thick patches between your speakers. Sounds like he’s got some fuzz guitars split as well - great, phat opening. Song kicks off in F#, which is quiet rare - and lovely. Vocals are masked by a vocoder of some sort and it perfectly matches the overall tones. What I love the most about the verse is split between the melody and it’s unique arc, as well as the odd meter. The intro is in 4/4, so this is a welcome surprise and one that keeps us guessing.
We’re only two sections into the song but the quality of the synth tones show that Hyper really takes the time to build the soundscape properly. What the average listener doesn’t know is that when you buy a keyboard (or a virtual keyboard program) you typically have hundreds of sounds (aka patches) to play with and choose from. It can be a tedious task, and quiet frankly too many artists and producers keep choosing the same stupid sounds. So, to here THESE tones are quiet refreshing.
With the first chorus the soundscape opens wide with the addition of a female backing vocal track with minimal effects. In the midst of all these heavy tones, this is a brilliant choice and adds exceptional depth. On top of the that, the hook is solid. There’s also an addition of some guitar lines before we head back into the Intro riff for a bridge into the second verse. The odd meter keeps up in the second verse, and then we’re right back into another chorus. With the bridge, we get the same breakup in meter which is followed by a laid back chorus with lovely Rhodes tones. There’s a slight change in the chord progression which shows his attention to detail and desire to keep things fresh, before we get hit with the tagged choruses at the end. This track is Pop, it’s Avant Garde, it’s Club, and Experimental. Crank up the BPM’s and it could be EDM. Break it down acoustically and it could be a killer jazz sextet piece with the lead line taken by trumpet, and the backup lines taken by a bone and sax. Very cool composition, with endless possibilities.
Make sure you scroll down to catch the rest of this record and his socials. Hyper is a master of this form of art and his work will challenge your tonal thought process. Here’s hoping we’ll hear this track pop up across all the platforms - good work, sir!
Check it out now!