Elaquent is a producer originally from Guelph, Ontario who has been making music for quite some time now. Over the years, he’s worked with notable labels such as URBNET and HW&W, just to name a couple. His last release came last year, when he contributed to Fat Beats’ instrumental series, Baker’s Dozen. Now he makes his Mello Music debut, as he drops Blessing in Disguise.

One of the things that has set Elaquent apart over the years is just what a complete musician he is. His releases are never just one thing. He’s always incorporating different styles of hip hop and electronic music, and he finds room to fold in jazz, R&B, soul, disco, classical, and any other style of music that catches his ear. In doing so, he also shows a great deal of patience and understanding in his compositions, never forcing his hand and trying to do much with his songs. Instead, he gives his music room to breath and unfold, but then finds ways to push things forward, switching up tempos, rhythmic patterns, melodies, and so forth, so that you’re always listening actively. Blessing in Disguise is a beautiful album, with a lot of warmth and depth to Elaquent’s production. It immediately sounds familiar, but never predictable. It’s a careful and difficult balance, but Elaquent walks that line expertly. There’s a reflective tone to the album, with a good chunk of the album falling into the midtempo range and relying on some really clean and wistful piano melodies, and it definitely works well on headphones. It’s definitely an album that works well when listening to it by yourself, so that you can really get inside your own head as the music builds around you. Most importantly, while Elaquent finds all sorts of ways to switch up his compositions over the course of the album, he also does an expert job in sequencing the album, so that it really feels like this guided journey over the course of fifteen songs. That’s easier said than done.

Elaquent is a veteran who has been producing his own unique style of hip hop and electronic music for a long time now. So while Blessing in Disguise is his debut on Mello Music, this album is far from green. This music is mature, thoughtful, and deep, rewarding listeners again and again on repeat listens.