Lando Chil is one of the brightest young artists to emerge in the past few years. The Chicago born artist had been based in Tucson, where he and producer Lasso have been collaborating. The two recently relocated to Los Angeles and Detroit, respectfully, but before they left, they went on a major writing and recording tear. With a full-length album coming later in the year, they debut themselves as a duo, LANDOLASSO.

While the branding is slightly different, Lando Chill has been working with Lasso for some time. Lasso produced the majority of Lando’s second album, The Boy Who Spoke To The Wind, and all of his most recent EP, maya. maia. mayu. That is to say, these two have outstanding chemistry together, finding ways to continue to push and challenge each other to achieve more. In the opening bars of the first song, “BRICKHAUS,” we find Lasso taking the lo-fi R&B style of production that he used on the last EP and pushing it in more of a house direction, pushing the tempo and playing with loops just a bit more. The result is a sound that lands somewhere between Daedelus and Kenny Seagal. While previous Lando projects have been a bit more meditative in nature, this EP definitely moves a lot more, which also forces Lando to change up his delivery as well. The result is a delivery that is melodic, and still makes use of the great resonance of his voice, but also brings in a lot more rhythm to his lyrics. Over the course of the EP, also finds a great balance with his lyrics, bringing in philosophical and real-life discussions about not fitting into a box, trying to make his way as an artist and a professional, and then mixing in moments of humor and sports references. It all comes together for an incredibly well-balanced and challenging EP from two artists who are really making some special music these days.

If this is the teaser, I can’t wait to see what the full-length album brings later in the year. LANDOLASSO is challenging, rewarding, and exciting to listen to. These two have a great working relationship, and to watch them grow together this way is extremely enjoyable.