Ringing in the new year, MoBlack Records takes its listeners on a sonic sojourn with a 10-piece compilation by various up and coming artists from all across the globe. Composed during unprecedented times, this eclectic mix of forward-thinking, present-focused tracks traverse not only the vague barriers of an interconnected and equally isolated digital world, but also gray areas within genres and subgenres that make music feel more intuitive and in the moment. Parisian artist Notre Dame starts off the Mo’Vibes collection with his vibrant love-charged ode ’Kaneba’, followed by Swiss duo Animal Trainer cruising the humid rhythm of clear turquoise waters and virulent currents in the ‘Verzasca’. South Africa’s Candy Man takes ‘Two Steps to Samburu’, drenched in solar elements, in perfect complement to Spanish artist Miganova’s pursuit of dreamy melodies in ‘Illusion’. Infusing a bit of Brooklyn, Berlin and his Benin roots, Ameme jolts deep fetching, energies in ‘Ewe’, as Dutch artist LevyM keeps the momentum with his sultry Movement-inducing contribution MBR415 just before Kiev’s Stas Drive lets the law of motion sink in, afflicting the vestibular nerve with a sense of giddiness, ‘Vertigo’. Winding down MoBlack’s first release of 2021, Francisco Garcia lets music speak with ethereal vibes in ‘Talking Without Words,’ and no 2020 VA compilation is quite complete without catching the tense beat of ‘Lockdown,’ which Mexico’s Jömiêl captures candidly. At the tenth spot, Stix the Artist lands us back right at home, or ‘Gau Lapeng’ in Southern Sotho, with a pulsating dance that shrugs off a bit of the old, to vibe in the new. Just in time, Mo’Vibes sets the year off to a good start.

Words by Marie J Floro