Emerging as the first female artist to sign to Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder collective, Jennifer Lee (better known as Tokimonsta) has since went on to release a string of debut projects to most recently curating her own artist imprint. Creating beautifully crafted and considered beats with a misty atmosphere, paired with soulful vocals both from herself and budding new artists such as Gavin Turek and MNDR, the LA producer’s ascent has been a steady one. Drip-feeding music that splatters tunes from R&B, wavy synth-keys and drops of guitar breaks with a blare of hip-hop influenced drums, Toki’s latest project FOVERE, is a seamless composite of each element intertwined.
Ranked as her fourth album in total and first ever since her 2014 LP Desiderium, the seven-track mix connects with Anderson .Paak, KRNE and frequent collaborator Gavin Turek for an added pitch to the downtempo jams. The project, which comes a week after sharing her lead single “Giving Up,” is now available for stream and will be released on her newly built Young Art Records platform.
Fall into the vibe of FOVERE, and check out our thoughts on a few standout tracks below.
“I’m Waiting,” Weaving in her electronic shades of soul and mystique, the intro mesmerizes the airy production with a simple call to the lovers, repeating “I’m waiting for you.” It’s a beautiful haunting melody that counterpoints the rhythm to flow for the rest of the album.
“Put It Down” featuring Anderson .Paak , The most upbeat track on the LP, “Put It Down” with Anderson .Paak and KRNE is unsurprisingly the lead single. Featuring booming horns and pinged key drops in between the driving drums, .Paak flips back and fourth between rapping and singing to match the rise of the beat.
“Wound Up,” The LP ends on a softer and more soothing note with the chill R&B jam “Wound Up” featuring a l l l e. It takes the sense of sonic scatter throughout the project, and compiles the feel for slinky percussion of sweet notes. Referring to the pleasure and pain, a l l l e layers the swanky production with a soft cry for her twisted love affair.