REMY is very excited to premiere the debut EP, Youth, from singer-songwriter and producer Active, aka Max Skiba, whose releases to date have clocked up in excess of a quarter of a million streams on Spotify alone.
Born Maksymilian Skiba in Naklo nad Notecia, Poland, Active emigrated to Ireland alongside his parents at the age of one. Growing up in a border town where the hip-hop scene was inappreciable, Active found his love and creative outlet in the genre. Inspired first by Logic, J.Cole, NF, Kendrick Lamar & Token. Active's relatable lyrics, impressive flow, impeccable production and extensive versatility make him one of the most exciting acts to emerge out of the Emerald Isle in recent years.
Opening with the pop and rn'b heavy 'Reach', Active paints a wide array of colours, both clear and warped with his sound, the liveliest of introductions that combines party grooves and guest vocal interludes to create a gravy sway.
Thick sonic effects fleece their way across second track '01 Chronicle', brushing with grime sounds, here Active probably most closely shares the influence of the aforementioned J.Cole stylistically, another pause leading to vocal harmonies reduces the tempo and paves the way for a fading outro, a nice contrast to the manic rumble that has come before.
'Another Day' is, as the song title suggests, A Day In The Life affair, musings on both internalised and external judgement, determination to not fall foul of an insubstantial life and find an anchor in fleeting happiness. Musically it's a smooth and breezy affair with strong pop and rn'b vibes despite the inherent frustration of the theme.
A key highlight is latest single 'I Never Die', again Active puts mundanity and daily slog within the cross-hairs of his lyrics, on this track in particular we get the brightest glimpse of where his sound might develop the most. Jingling sounds and a mechanical lo-fi stuttering beat get right under the listeners skin, and is also another example of how he channels aggression and frustration with great control, avoiding low-shelf clichés.
Closing with 'Life', we find Skiba at his most unhindered and stripped back, it feels unhindered and honest, in full-flight rap mode he carefully places the right sounds and moods in the correct places, and ultimately, as we see again on again on Youth, displays a keen understanding of tidy construction in his song-writing.
Over time you develop an intuition of where an artist might be headed, it's not an innate feeling, it's merely as a result of recognising patterns. When you take Youth and his previous singles such as the excellent 'Lobotomy' (and the fact he is 18 years of age) into account, the evidence starts to stack up that we are looking at the early stages of one of Ireland's most promising hip-hop producers.
Youth by Active is out today on all streaming platforms.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3r3yUrTG2m3ry3ICLyvaWH?si=HWq9kEADTYOZHKOTrllDYQ
https://www.facebook.com/ActiveIE/
A key highlight is latest single 'I Never Die', again Active puts mundanity and daily slog within the cross-hairs of his lyrics, on this track in particular we get the brightest glimpse of where his sound might develop the most. Jingling sounds and a mechanical lo-fi stuttering beat get right under the listeners skin, and is also another example of how he channels aggression and frustration with great control, avoiding low-shelf clichés.
Closing with 'Life', we find Skiba at his most unhindered and stripped back, it feels unhindered and honest, in full-flight rap mode he carefully places the right sounds and moods in the correct places, and ultimately, as we see again on again on Youth, displays a keen understanding of tidy construction in his song-writing.
Over time you develop an intuition of where an artist might be headed, it's not an innate feeling, it's merely as a result of recognising patterns. When you take Youth and his previous singles such as the excellent 'Lobotomy' (and the fact he is 18 years of age) into account, the evidence starts to stack up that we are looking at the early stages of one of Ireland's most promising hip-hop producers.
Youth by Active is out today on all streaming platforms.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3r3yUrTG2m3ry3ICLyvaWH?si=HWq9kEADTYOZHKOTrllDYQ
https://www.facebook.com/ActiveIE/
