Mura Masa - 'Mura Masa' Album Review

Mura Masa – ‘Mura Masa’

Mura Masa, the alias of 21 year-old Guernsey born DJ Alex Crossan, has been on the lips of many critics throughout 2017 with the vast majority of them tipping him for greatness. I have therefore been anticipating the release of his debut studio album greatly, especially after listening to the singles that he has already released prior to this.

Overall this self-titled debut record is extremely clever. Crossan has somehow managed to create his own dancey sub-genre on this record, a sub-genre that is filled with dance beats, steel drums, kalimbas, hip-hop and everything in between, all whilst making it sound coherently brilliant. This inventiveness is also excelled via the vast array of different special guests that Crossan has enlisted for this album. Hip-hop (A$ap Rocky & Desiigner), indie-pop (Charli XCX), alternative rock (Damon Albarn and RnB (Tom Tripp) are all represented and catered for on ‘Mura Masa’, a feat that has to be applauded, even more so when you consider this is a debut record.

And that is something that is very important in relation to this exciting record. Crossan has simultaneously managed to incorporate dancehall vibes that we are familiar with whilst also putting his own vibe/twist on it to engineer a whole new sound that is exceptional. This is something which a lot of artists would specifically shy away from on their debut record and the risk and inventiveness of Crossnan on this record is definitely something to admire greatly.

The only thing that annoys me regarding this record, and it is a minor criticism trust me, is Crossan’s decision to release 9 of the 13 songs on this album prior to its release. This therefore means that his fans listening to the record are surely already going to know the vast majority of the tracks on the album and not leaving much to surprise. Maybe it was a record label decision that Crossan was unable to interfere with or maybe it’s just the direction in which modern music is heading but I for one am not a fan of it.

Despite this, you cannot escape from the fact that Mura Masa’s debut self-titled record is a definite risk, a risk that has paid off massively, and one that is sure to benefit the career of this young DJ massively. The record is overall in its own category, a category that is miles ahead of the majority of modern dance music currently being released at this period of time, I therefore congratulate Crossan massively and simply hope that he continues to produce brave, exciting music for a long time to come.

Overall Rating – 8/10

Fave Tracks – ‘Love$ick’, ‘Messy Love’, ‘1 Night’, ‘What If I Go?’, ‘Helpline’

Least Fave Tracks- ‘Nuggets’, ‘All Around the World’