Blast Off

Blast Off is an album of pure imagery. The music creates a vibrant landscape on which the lyrics are the landmarks and life forms. The album stems from an eclectic mix of several musical influences which is what sets Paper Tiger apart from many electronic bands with only one producer. It’s not clear if this is an electronic, jazz, funk or R&B album. But what is clear is that Paper Tiger have used elements of each genre artfully.

One device that made the aesthetic nature of the album clear was the stunning music video for ‘Weight in Space’ (feat. Shafiq Husayn). This existential journey of a woman in space is food for the imagination, hinting at a plot but never spoon feeding it to the viewer. In this track the vocals and the melody often become one, with rapper Husayn’s deep voice becoming the bass and the higher pitch of a mystery female vocalist melding with the synth.

The journey continues through the album as snippets of Oriental music fling us to the Far East and the sound of footsteps leaves us gaping at a vast army. You can let your imagination run wild when its endless subtleties of sound evoke so many ideas. This could be due to the large range of influences on the six-person band, from Japanese animation to apocalyptic space-rap. And their endless rota of collaborators means Paper Tiger’s sound avoids repetition and remains fresh.