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Miguel featuring Lil Yachty “Number 9”

“Number 9” basically sounds like if Timbaland had produced Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, which is a bold but not at all illogical musical stunt. Miguel’s arrangement hinges on a very Panda Bear type of choral melody but removes the dense layers of sound you’d expect to hear on an Animal Collective record in favor of a stark beat and simple deep bass line. The emphasis on syncopation and minimalism casts the vocal hook in sharp relief, resulting in a very striking and alien sound that’s also more than a little churchy. Lil Yachty’s part has the structural utility of a guest rap verse but is just as melodically and harmonically interesting as Miguel’s layers of vocals, particularly as the song elegantly slides out of that verse into another round of the chorus. This is a stunning piece of music, something that simultaneously sounds like it’s from the future and the distant past. Miguel and Yachty both have reputations as adventurous genre-bending artists but this is pushing into very exciting uncharted territory so I’m dying to hear what else Miguel has cooked up for his fifth record.

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