Milad Nazeri – Sounds Like Mi (Album Review)

Following the theme of multidisciplinary artists, as per my recent reviews, today’s review poses no exception. Multidisciplinarians tend to give their all in music, marrying different expertise to create a cohesive body chocked full of various influences. The same goes for music, and people who dabble in multiple different genres of music, styles of music, presentations of music, and other subfields of creation that can go hand-in-hand with music- the external influence makes it where you can enrich absolutely anything you put your mind to. Often so, I find artists displaying this quality bearing exceptional musical expertise. If you are a musician yourself, try to spread your wings wherever you can. You may never know how outstanding the result may be.

In today’s review, we will explore Milad Nazeri’s newest release, titled ‘Sounds Like Mi’. You can probably infer from my initial paragraph that he is truly a multidisciplinarian as well. He bears expertise through dynamic contributions to TV and film soundtracks, as well as the virtual reality gaming world. An esteemed music composer and producer, ‘Sounds Like Mi’ marks his debut as a house artist. He has spent his career crafting soundtracks and music for high-profile clients such as ‘Ghostbusters’, ‘Grown Ups 2’, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’, and ‘Zookeeper’.

A step aside from his repertoire, this album marks a milestone in his career as a culmination of his multidimensional level of creativity and deep connection to dance and electronic music. It also pays homage to his musical roots, going back to the vibrant Dallas rave scene of his youth. Through garnering sheer experience from performing live sets at underground raves, formal piano training, venturing into the advertising realm as well as innovating in virtual reality gaming at Google, he accumulated a creative base that sprawled out into this groundbreaking album.

Milad Nazeri describes the album, as quoted, “This album is not just a collection of tracks; it’s a personal story, a manifestation of my artistic journey. I’ve always been passionate about dance music, and ‘Sounds Like Mi’ is a tribute to the beats that have inspired me throughout my life. The album is energetic, funky, melodic, and embodies the essence of my musical identity.”

Thus far, these aspects look promising. Let’s dive into the album and find out if it is true to its description, and immerse ourselves in the world of multidimensional creativity.

The album starts off immensely promising. The first track, ‘Fabulous’, instantly puts me in the mind of house tracks from ’07 – ’08. It truly has a very all-rounded late 00s house feel, which is quite interesting to hear in this time and age. Very reminiscent of the house soundtrack from the computer game ‘Jojo’s Fashion Show: World Tour’, which to me, was an introduction to house music in my young and impressionable brain. It also bears a lot of similarity to works by Benny Benassi. It starts with a very funky musical motif, as well as existential chords that give the song a lot of character. The bass in this song bears more musical variability and motivic variation than most house songs as well. There are elements of glitch in this song as well, which gives it an edge and a unique musical scope. I absolutely adore how there are aspects of 80s funk as well, to contrast the otherwise 70s funk. The addition of piano trills as well as tambourines in the background give this song an extra layer of excitation and ingenuity. In terms of the synthesizers, the saw leads have variations at the end of certain measures. Surprisingly, towards the mark at 2:50, I find the piano also reminiscent of salon/ragtime piano. The track is definitely dynamic, with various pieces and influences merging in a stylistic and sophisticated fashion. Highly recommend.

The second track, ‘Beyond’, also follows the same time period influence the previous tracks bear. The bass in this particular track is definitely deeper, giving the listener a more immersive feel. In terms of harmony, it is extremely rich and almost ventures into deep house territory. The horn instruments in this track give this track a neo-70s feel, which transports the time influence to the 00s as well. I find the addition of the squaretooth wave very calming, if I had a colour to describe it, I’d describe it as a cool, neon-blue. The melodies in this song bear some similarity also to the hyper-vocoder quirks of Hausa music, with a backdrop of a soundscape with unique filters. The use of filters in this song is prominent, with one reminiscent of white noise and the other possibly being a high-pass or a band filter. The save from the breakdown of the song is extremely poignant, with the recurrent piano notes, variation in beat and willingness to be unique in terms of manipulation of synthesizers. Another highly recommended track.

‘Flying High’, the subsequent track, to me sounds like a combination between the old and the new when it comes to electronic music. It starts with an almost pentatonic melodic trill, with an 80s feel to it. That paints the picture of futurism itself. It then bears horns that remind me a lot of 70s music, specifically the horns that Fela Kuti used to use. I presume the techniques used in this song relate to sidechaining as well as ducking when it comes to synths. The emotional tone of the song is also quite rich in emotion, due to its harmonic structure. Some of the harmonic inflections are reminiscent of Bobby Valentino’s ‘Slow Down’. It bears very, very deep emotion, be it intentional or not. The arpeggiation towards the middle of the song bear a call-and-response between sawtooth waves and sine waves. Some of the beats and claps used in this also give it a slight element of 90s house music, all within the ascending and descending soundscape. Interestingly, I also hear the use of a strong bass guitar with a dynamic bass pattern. It truly is a unique song.

‘Boogie’, the fourth track, starts off very strong with a dreamy and hyperfuturistic soundscape. The combination of airy, choral vocals with the chords chosen give it an almost dreamy and out-of-world experience. The inharmonic inflection on the bass makes it definitely more experimental, but it gives the track such an outstanding quality. The descending nature of the main melody throughout the song gives it a very definite musicality. The phaser with what I assume to be an electric piano makes the song even more dreamy, and the strings in the distance give this song a slight tinge of space-age music. The elements of the effects give it more of a glitch feel as well, and is reminiscent of late 2000s house music. I’d say this is one of the most existential and futuristic tracks of the entire album. It is almost too overwhelming to analyse, because of how deep the framework of the song sounds. The choral vocals in the background descend into sheer delightful cacophony, with the effects drawing you in and out of a mental loop. It definitely puts me in the mind of the song of ‘Maram Kothiye’ by A.R. Rahman, but more advanced and musically competent, in my honest judgment. Definitely recommended.

The fifth track, ‘Just Us’, has a very strong funk and urban samba feel to it. It definitely blends a lot of aspects of early 2000s house music with funkier elements. The dots of synthesized sounds give it a futuristic edge, but it complements the timbre of it. Its harmonies are extremely soothing as well as dynamic. There is also a very prominent funky bass in this song, which makes me feel like as if one of Michael Jackson’s works from the late 70s was reworked. It also has the feel of ‘ascension’ towards the entire song, as it builds up and then descends continuously. It gets more jazzy towards the end, and the chord progressions are impressive. Highly recommended.

‘Butter’, the sixth track, starts with an almost tropical feel as the synthesizers remind me of a steel pan. It is quite upbeat and upfront, with an impressive buildup due to the hard beats as well as the funky bass. The main melodic synthesizer maintains quite a light tone throughout the whole song, that gives it quite a ‘cute’ feel. This aspect of the song reminds me of a lot of disco-house or electronic music in general from the mid 2010s. However, towards the middle of the song, that aspect of the song gets switched up a little bit with soulful chords that detract from purely interpreting the song as lightweight. This is honestly a cute song. It also bears more of a resemblance to Latvian deep house, specifically ‘Blood Grooves & Kikis’. It is a unique track that emphasizes the musical variability between the bass, chords and the ‘steel pan’ type melody.

‘Flippin’ Out’, which is the seventh track, starts with a completely different feel from the previous track. It almost has elements of a tribal house, counteracted with hyper futuristic 80s house. The synthesizers in this definitely have a unique filter. The various instruments in this also sound like they have a portamento. That gives the instruments in this song a ‘gliding’ feel, between the notes and the pitch constantly shifting. Due to this form of sound manipulation, it gives the song almost that of a ‘rush’ feel. Definitely true to its title, of course. This song also puts me in the mind of a more dynamic version of ‘Jet Lag Slave’. The quirks in the bass also have melodic resemblance to some funk tracks. In terms of sound design, this is one of the more impressive tracks.

The eighth track, ‘Pump and Dump’, is slightly more industrial. It starts off with very sassy and inviting notes, but the vocoder used in this gives it a very hyperfuturistic and interesting feel. This song also ventures more towards the glitch aspect of house, with the way the instrumentation is set up. The harshness of the song oddly complements both the vocoder aspect and the rest of the subsequent melodies in the background of this track. I love the breakdown of the piano in the middle, as its tenderness balances out how harsh the rest of the song is. The juxtaposition of these two aspects give it a sort of musical balance in its theme. The way the song ‘warps’ at certain measures of the song is also very innovative. Other clips of glitch sounds are added throughout the instrumentation, with more sprinkles of other instruments and a funk influence. I find it interesting how the artist manages to add a little bit of funk in every single track, regardless of stylistic theme. Quite a delight!

The ninth track, ‘Pressure’, starts off strong with more of an industrial and futuristic feel. I can hear the lyrics, ‘Pressure’ emanating from the vocoder, but the cadence makes it part of the instrumentation itself. The hyper saw in this gives it the feel of a large sports arena, and the tempo as well as the steadfast beat honestly gives this song more of a ‘sporty’ feel. Once again, a very ingenious use of juxtaposition is invoked with the use of a tender, tingly sound that almost goes into a sixteenth note triplet that reminds me of the ‘segment-to-rap’ part in the music video of ‘Black or White’ by Michael Jackson. It is a very hard-hitting and soothing track at the same time. The chord that comes in at every eight measures makes it dreamy. This song reminds me of a more militaristic version of ‘Thottal Poomalarum’ towards the end of the song. Recommended.

The tenth track, ‘Bang Bang’, reminds me of a combination of dreamy 80s tingly inflections combined with the vocal chopping techniques employed by Art of Noise in their earlier works. It is contrasted with a trance-like futurism and even elements of acid in this track. It definitely is very hard-hitting, but has elements of tender musicality throughout. A quite unique technique that is frankly employed throughout the album. Some of the synthesizer sounds in this track oscillate between Kraftwerk traditionalism and early 2010s futurism. I like the way the song descends into almost pure acid house towards the end of the song.

‘Mess Around’, the eleventh track, starts off with a melodic tune that once again, if used in isolate, reminds me of old Hausa songs. Almost pentatonic at first, it expands upon itself. It then descends into a circular easy-listening-like chord structure, that also has elements of lounge. I can hear the tinges of funk pumped into this song, with the steady groove of the song frankly being the glue to the rest of the elements of the song. The horns used at some aspects of this song give it a little bit more of a flair, and I hear slight tinges of acid as well as German-influenced house music. This song portray’s the artist amazing skill at chopping up little elements of different genres that may seem like they may not go together into one cohesive art form. Truly, even though it still falls under the scope of electronic and house, I find this song to be very truly multi-genre.

The twelfth track, Better Late, begins with tender chords and instrumentation that really reminds me of some of Vikter Duplaix’s work. It definitely is very jazzy, and sombre in the best way possible. The arpeggiation gives this tender song the forward technicality it requires to fit the rest of the album stylistically, and the slight inserts of vocals and piano give it musical variability. This song truly is a treat to the brain. It also reminds me of a lot of Frankie Knuckles’ works. The dance between ascending, descending, arpeggiation and chromaticism work in a tango in this particular song. This song definitely sticks true to the house genre. I really love the solo improv of piano towards the end, it reminds me of Mark Garson.

Lastly, Uncover ends the album with horns that remind me of samba and a whole lot of flair. The piano in the background holds a very constant pattern, while the synthesis in the midst of all of these musical aspects is extremely unique. The infusion of funk, once again, is truly apparent, with a 70s feel to it. In the middle of the song, it switches up and the intervallic structure starts to emulate trance more than house actually. It also has a feel of eurohouse to it. It is quite upbeat, peppy and some of the percussive elements contrasted with the funky bass also remind me of darbuka patterns.

All in all, this entire album has truly been amazing to listen to. Usually I’d point out certain critiques with aspects of the song, but as a cohesive album it does stay true to its description and does have a consistent musical theme (even if experimental) throughout the entire duration. Much like Milad Nazeri’s multidisciplinary nature, songs throughout the album have various aspects of multiple genres that gel well. Throughout the entire scope of the album, the choice of musical synthesis, arrangements as well as compositions have been quite excellent and not to forget the elephant in the room- all of the songs have been mastered well. All aspects of instrumentation managed to shine, even if it didn’t seem like they could gel. The only tiny critique of this album that I do have is the fact that funk is infused in almost every single track- it is musically very interesting, and I do like it, but sometimes it can overshadow the track and make it sound like it does have a 70s house influence. Perhaps with further refinement and melodic variation, these aspects of funk could be re-engineered to avoid this potential pigeonholing bias a listener might have.

Otherwise, a solid body of work.

Score/Outstanding: It definitely is one of the better pure house albums out there. With the artist’s inevitable ability to be unique, and infuse quirks from various different genres into a cohesive house song, it definitely delivers on what it intended to do. As an album, all songs have great replay value and gel together perfectly. Besides being an outstanding house album, it is a great ‘album’ in of itself.

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