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Hir-O Emissary Square
Hir-O Emissary Square

Listen To Detroit Producer HIR-O's Vibrant New LP 'Emissary'

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

Out of a collision of Detroit music genres comes HIR-O, a beatmaker whose productions veer toward sounds tasteful and modern. The young Mellow Orange-signee's blend of both man-made and animatronic tones recently reached a new peak with the release of Emissary, a sprawling 17 track LP that puts HIR-O's best qualities front and center. "Sunset of Risa" features a crackling drum pattern reminiscent of Flying Lotus's early work, matched and synths so wide they run up the walls. It's immediately followed by "Officers pt. 1," an after-dark hip-hop track featuring MCs Doss the Artist, Red Pill  and L05Track after track, HIR-O draws his neon-and-smoke sound closer into focus. Emissary is a mood piece that's surprisingly rich--its pianos feel as natural as its digitized pings, and its maker almost never loses step along his path of forward motion.

"Gundam" appears as an early highlight (mobile suits? HIR-O? We see you, anime fans), but it's late cut "S.T.A.R." that seems destined for the widest play. With its nimble guitar sample and rollicking half-skip beat, the 3 and a half minute beat never wears out or goes flat but only grips, tighter and tighter, the cinematic dream music that HIR-O clearly aims to offer to the world. Emissary can be a strange listen at times for anyone unprepared for a bevy of video game whirrs and beeps, but ultimately it's an album first and foremost concerned with providing pleasure. HIR-O has unquestionably stepped up his game. Listen to Emissary in full below.