London-based producer Kamen Kolev’s “Bloom” is without a doubt your best hip-hop record for the week, especially if where you live summer is at its peak. With a ton of jazzy vibes, tight hip-hop beats and smooth bass-lines, it’s as chill as the cold water that’s saving us in the hottest months of the year. This intelligent and often funky take on hip-hop is definitely on the rise right now so, no doubt tracks like “Time”, “Bloom” or “Back” will fit the tastes of fans and artists inhabiting the same realms as Kamen Kolev. It’s a neat selection, except for maybe “Pacman” which kind of clashes with the overall vibe of the album.

The music on “Bloom” was programmed and sampled super skillfully but we also applaud the sporadic vocal samples chopped and sprinkled over the tracks. It’s them and the soloing jazz instruments that manage to give the music a more humane and organic touch. For sure production could have been handled better as some instruments tend to dominate others and drums for sure are sometimes too stiff. However, sticking to the more lo-fi spectre of hip-hop is a direction Kamen Kolev can definitely explore further. There’s a ton of producers preoccupied with dropping the thickest and fattest beats so it’s high time somebody focused more on atmosphere and aimed at more lively and organic sound appeared. This said, all the material on “Bloom” can make for a dope live show. We hope Kamen Kolev feels the need to perform this with a band or at least a few live instruments to accompany the solid instrumentals. “Bloom” can definitely shine bright if presented live (and loud).