Kapuchon – Piano

44%%Overall Score

• Funky instrumental
• Repetition of an unneeded sound
• Pianos? Mhhhhhhhhhhhh

Complaints are rarer from my side when it concerns Afrojack’s music catalogue. He’s still one of the veterans who has pursued consistent quality in releases, still experimenting with his signature sounds, but man.. was this week brutal (sort of) for the Dutch sensation!

Let’s begin with his weaaaak Future Rave attempt at “Okay” by Nicky Romero, as the original impressed me with its delicate and fragile bassline… I was about to write all about the remix’s boring and senseless schematics, but I found something even juicier: oh yes, the lesser known alter alias of Kapuchon has much to be discussed about with the brand new release of “Piano”.

There’s a colossal twist that I would like to reveal later at the end, one which left me dumbfounded for a while, so let’s analyze first why I disliked this Tech House project from such a well-respected name in the industry.

The production is characterized by a whistle, a loop perhaps made with an instrument that partly resembles a sax (unable to determine) and a secondary vocal snippet. So the latter plays for a second as an one-shot, almost as a rhythmic “Ih” sound. Terribly annoying, especially when the song passes the third minute mark. That despicable “Ih” sound ruins the otherwise appreciable amount of funky-ness from the sax, acting as this random noise that distracts from the otherwise finely arranged set of percussions. Bizarre as it is, this unnecessary additive ruins the experience!

Kapuchon has already offered a respectable set of Tech-heavy releases (my favourite being “Waves”, which carries a pinch of Bass House in it). “Piano”, however, doesn’t stride with the same amount of efficiency. With just three leading elements, its hard to see how things went wrong here, if speaking from a personal viewpoint, as I cannot talk in details about every other genre.

That’s why, disappointed, I am labelling “Piano” rather as a counter effort from the act who has already provided great ideas to the House scene.

So, coming to the grand reveal of the twist. Guess what? There’s no piano in “Piano”!

WTF?! Is Afrojack pranking us? Someone better give me explanations!