The title Neighbourhood Suicide invokes feelings of despair, loss, hopelessness, but for Radius, Chicago resident Ramon Norwood, he states this is a personal journey through the streets and life living in Chicago. Chicago’ competitive edge, supporting and nurturing creativity, but inevitably a city one needs to leave due to the disconnected and segregated layout of the city and its public transport system, inspired Radius to expand his ability to write music for local mc’.
This being his first official release, he has produced an album of far greater depth than a back beat for up and coming mc. The sounds contained on the album are more experimental, break-heavy, sonically layered to create a journey/dreamscape/soundtrack feel which he succeeds doing with ease. The album flows nicely, not disjointed like some instrumental albums can be, starting with the experimental sounds of Humboldt Park, moving in to the break-driven Uptown and Logan Square. It definitely has a jazz feel, not saying its jazzy, but there is a thread of Chicago jazz through the whole album, invoking jazz pianists of yesteryear, more prominent in tracks such as Bucktown and 90/94, or the upright bass prominence of LSD. Closing with the ultimate journey track South Chicago, starting with shuffling beats, tinkering keys and sad strings, moving back to the jazz hall for a brief interlude, and then silence… The hidden track eventually rolls in, affirming his Chicago roots with an unexpected excursion in classic Chicago House, the simplicity and repetitiveness of the 808 with its driving beat, hand claps and synth lines.
The album succeeds in taking you on a journey, and a very enjoyable one at that, the depth of sound on this instrumental album warrants keeping an eye on Radius in the future. His MPC skills, together with his ability to craft interesting and emotional songs, make for an enjoyable imaginary ride around the neighborhoods of Chicago, and for one person who has never considered visiting the city, it certainly has sparked an interest in doing so.
Wayne Stronell
