Proving his depth of sound rivals any producer, Tone Ra, an electronic producer from the Boston based collective Zone Def, releases his second EP entitled Zone Def Vol. 2. The mixtape begins with an upbeat footwork track called “Ta Luv,” with high pitched starry synths, the track is a soundtrack to a warm summers day. Deeper into the EP is “The Ugly,” a dark bass heavy track. The catchy filtered melody sits second to the low pitched vocals. The deep ambience plays perfect with the dark, processed MF Doom sample. As the finale to the EP and a personal favorite of mine, “Dreams” is a perfectly titled closing song. With deep rim shots, soothing vocals, and atmospheric synth pops throughout, you feel as though you are drifting away in a dreamlike state without a care in the world.
The EP was created over the past two months, depicting the ever changing moods of summer. He strayed away from sticking to one specific genre and instead veered towards creating a mood for each track, giving the listener a more emotional connection to the music.
Next up with the Zone Def crew is a collaboration mixtape with the label men HNDMD (also out of Boston) and Zone Def member Tide Eye‘s first EP release. Zone Def will be supporting master beatsmith and Symbol‘s label artist Druid Cloak on September 6th in Boston.