Beautiful Things

Composed at his home studio, Cal committed to venturing outside his comfort zone to great effect. Beautiful Things ventures from boom bap hip hop to lo-fi inspired jazz grooves while also dabbling in some more 90s-esque R&B stylings. Originally intended to be a beat tape, Cal decided to ask a number of talented up and coming artists to collaborate in bringing his soundscapes to life as songs. After some deliberation, he decided to package them as singles to accompany the original instrumental release. Mad Macks, Calvin Valentine, Zen Soul, Baby Britt, Maya Huyana, Baqi and Folk the Artist are all at their best backed by Cal’s unique grooves. Every one of them seems to effortlessly craft some memorable lyric and melodies into their performances.

Regarding the project, Cal-S-thetics said,

It very much encompasses my vibe because their is very little sequencing or sampling, no quantizing or MIDI usage. Some very sloppy attempts at musicianship but is very much from my mind. No expectations. Just waiting until I made something that felt good then finishing it up and moving on to the next one. It came out of both inspiration and frustration. The very doubt I was having about my talent, my equipment, my approach, all made this project and while it isn’t perfect I know someone out there, besides myself is going to have that same feeling I had. And that is a beautiful thing despite ugliness that made it!

Both ambitious and audacious, Cal delivers something special in this project. An energy of discovery. Discovery of new talents, of syncopated bounce, and thoughtful vibrations. A signature of the melody driven funk that Cal has began to embody as his own.