Let me paint you a little picture of my evening the other day- It was a chilly night in Melbourne, I’d just left dinner and drinks with a pal on Chapel Street- if you were wondering, we ate $4 pizza and yes, it was delicious. I jumped in my trusty Suzuki Swift, which is the model before aux cords became the standard, so I have the options of CD or radio, and that night it was radio. Triple J was my choice, and holy heck, thank Morgan Freeman it was. I was cruising down Punt Road, and for the people that know, it can be a doozy – but nothing could bring me down because I was graciously introduced to my new favourite song and artist- Arno Faraji and his track ‘destiny’s’.
It’s like he’s combined my favourite elements from different genres and created this masterpiece just for me. Man, in the moment it felt like divine intervention.
You’ve got this melancholic techno synth that sets the scene from the outset – I f****** love a melancholic synth. Then this drum and bass double kick beat come into the mix at the same time my new bestie, Arno, launches into his super relaxed delivery of rhymes. Though his delivery is relaxed/borderline bored it has me looking at my centre console in utter disbelief that I would be so lucky to have such tunes grace these unworthy earholes.
That’s not all folks, around the 50-second mark I start feeling like maybe I’ve heard this cat before? There is something so familiar about the way he’s speaking to me, then it hits me, he’s throwing mad Childish Gambino vibes at me. He’s rapping to a drum and bass beat with a melancholic synth and throwing me Childish Gambino vibes!! brb, ded.
I should note, though he’s throwing those vibes at you, in no way is Arno Faraji imitating Childish Gambino or anyone else – he is one of the most unique acts I’ve heard recently. Have a listen to it yourselves, then vote for him in Triple J‘s Unearthed High competition. Once that’s all done, let’s start the Arno Faraji fan club. I call dibs on being president.
