I had the privilege of reviewing Barista’s last release Open Sesame Vol.2: Press Rewind, and it left me with a feeling of hope and anticipation as this trilogy of concept albums were in their encapsulation. Now with the climax and recapitulation of ideas in Vol.3 of the Open Sesame trilogy, A Different Beat going to live up to its potential, and deliver me the satisfaction I am yearning for? Starting with a remix of “Dreams” from (I am assuming) a different collection of music, “Dreams Remix B” opens with a funky guitar lick which pulls at my contemporary rock heartstrings. The majestic female vocalist enters with a long chord building incredible tension before the drum tack enters and we have our theme. The rotation of rhythm ideas are met with new ideas and resolution of the phrase. The vocals continue to be expressive as she works through the “Dreams” lyrics allowing her register to expand more and more throughout. A revisit of the guitar lick under these vocals also creates completeness which this track delivers superbly.
“Key E” is a rock tune at its core. A traditional feel-good rock number which is accompanied by many synth sounds bridging the genre gap and making it an appealing track to any listener. As Barista revisits the main melodies of this track he builds on his musical ideas, like in “Dreams”, showcasing his vast theoretical knowledge making the scale notes build off each other, and resolving to a perfect entrance for more kick-ass beats. Open Sesame Vol. 3: A Different Beat is not a conclusion to a trilogy, it builds much too much on the concepts which Barista lends to it. In fact, much to my delight, Vol. 3: A Different Beat is the Middle offering to a five-EP Open Sesame concept creation. The incredible blend of instrumentation presented here demonstrates the possibilities for cohesion between Rock guitar and Modern Synth melodies. The expressive usage of vocals, when need, and the absence of vocals where the melody sings for itself validates my opinion of the Open Sesame collection. This fresh take on club EDM music would make an attractive addition to any Dance/Urban music station and club mix. However, I believe the true potential for tracks such as “Dreams,” and “Key E” would best be suited for licensing to major film of video game soundtracks, as the raw emotion portrayed in Barista’s synth samples grabs the listener’s attention and challenges them while entertaining as well.
–Lee Callaghan
