Emapea is a producer from Poland who had been making music for a few years before he released his first album, Seeds, Roots & Fruits, in 2016. Most listeners in the U.S. are probably most familiar with his work because of his collaboration with L.A. emcee Kid Abstrakt for their 2020 album, Jazzy Vibes. Most recently, Emapea gave us an instrumental EP last fall called Bees, Trees, and Flowers. Now he’s back with a full-length solo album, Dreaming Zone.

Sometimes an artist delivers an album with a title that just nails the feeling of the album. When you put on Dreaming Zone, you will be instantly transported to the middle of the night with Emapea’s warm and smooth grooves, gentle melodies, and just overall dreamy soundscapes. Emapea has a knack for feeling out these laid back beats and then pacing their melodic development at just the right speed. They never feel boring because everything’s always in motion, but at the same time, Emapea’s not in a hurry to get anywhere and he’s not interested in making his tracks any busier than they need to be. Most of the time Emapea leans on jazz piano to lead that melody, always done with care and deliberation. Again, he wants you to really sit in the groove and let the music wash around you so you can really be in the moment with the music. To that end, the ideal way to listen to this album would be late at night, with the headphones on and the lights turned low, where you can just absorb all of these gorgeous compositions and let your mind float away for a few minutes.

Dreaming Zone is an album that is immediately accessible, but then still has enough musical depth that it will continue to grow on you. Emapea is a really thoughtful producer, and he’s given us a really beautiful soundscape to get lost in as you drift off into the night.