Album Review #2: NANORAY - ZAPPER

A fair warning, This album is a bit of a shift in style from my last review, so if you were expecting something ambient and dark, this is not it.

NANORAY is an electronic artist that dabbles in numerous genres. Those being Atmospheric Drum and B***, Dabber, Hardcore EDM, Breakbeat, and many others. ZAPPER is their sixth album, and arguably, their most popular at the moment, and for good reason.

ZAPPER is compact and clean, each track flowing very well into the next. The first track, “Transform” sounds very much like I just booted up a game on an old playstation, and the title screen music just kicked in with a punch. Transitioning to the next track, “NEKOMATA’97” is where NANORAY’s iconic sound really shows. What sounds like vocal chops rhythmically sync in with the drums and synthesizer sounds really well, everything here has a nice and neat blend to it. Near the middle breakdown, another panning sequencing synth that sounds similar to a sorting algorithm is heard, and honestly is really satisfying to hear.

A friend of mine dislikes NANORAY’s sound, and calls it “too blippy”, I’m not entirely sure what they meant by this, but I personally I think the “blippy-ness” and use of many different fast paced sounds that pan around from left to right is very effective and creates much more depth and texture, the breakdown of “NEKOMATA’97” is a perfect example of that.

One thing that NANORAY is good at is breakdowns. This is seen well with “SALMON CANNON DELUXE”, as well as “****runner [カミrestore”, where in these tracks, in the middle, there is a really cool shift in the bridge before the chorus, and this bridge is hardcore with drums and distorted synths, often times punching the speakers, and really catches your attention. Each track in this album is great at that, as well as very creative uses for drums and percussion, as far as using vocal chops as a means of rhythm (NEKOMATA’97)

The outro for the album, “Awake” is a nice and calming refresher, and almost sounds like credits music for a game, as the intro sound much more similar to a title screen. Awake has a very nice drum beat that sound like a lot of stuff I would hear in vaporwave albums, which is something I really enjoy.

Most of ZAPPER feels like I am playing an old RPG from the 90’s that I discovered in an old attic. With tracks that sound like intense background music and boss battles. It is probably one of NANORAY’s most iconic albums in my opinion and I greatly recommend it to anyone who is interested in his catalogue.

You can listen to the album here