Release Date: 6 March 2026
Song Count: 8
Duration: 25 minutes, 18 seconds
Rating: 7.1/10
Description:
Song Count: 8
Duration: 25 minutes, 18 seconds
Rating: 7.1/10
Description:
To top out the final review before the project hits its 6-month anniversary - time flies for sure! -, I have received another personal recommendation, for an independent artist who has been rising in attention in short-form content platforms online by the name of Ary Kumar. The London-born musician has quite recently taken the plunge into full-length releases with his debut TEMPT FATE, a concept album that explores the inner workings of his mind as well as him dealing with his own identity and mortality in an experimental flavour of hip-hop weaving in several musical influences along the ride. It stands as a highly personalised album for Kumar, acting as a glimpse not only into his life and pursuits, but also the way he utilises his songwriting, rapping and production skills to tell his story in a unique way.
From tracks exploring the concepts of ethnicity using percussion and singing from classic South Asian music with "COCONUT", over unconventional rhythms and alternations between minimalist moments with pianos and striking ones where electric guitars barge in with "DEATH'S MARCH", all the way to a saxophone-driven jam with plenty of groove and kick to it with the opener "FUNK OUT MY BRAIN", the album goes in many different directions with its eight tracks whilst placing them in one coherent order to showcase a certain narrative progression. We explore as the protagonist goes through believing highly of himself before being challenged by the realities of the world around him, tempting fate (roll credits) as a means to deal with these revelations and then ultimately coming to terms with them - a reflection of not only possibly the life of the singer himself, but also of many other people who have gone through a similar development and can see themselves in the things being described. One is never lost of their interest whilst going through this shorter yet highly varied assortment of tracks, as Kumar's rap flow as well as the different things the music throws at the listener are more than effective at keeping engagement.
Though far from a perfect piece, primarily due to its short length and limited capacity, TEMPT FATE is a truly interesting work that explores many themes and sonical as well as narrative directions that are uncommon to find in most modern music. It is clear that Ary Kumar has put in as much passion to the project as he could with his talents and innovations, and it leads to an overall enjoyable listen, even with some songs conveying their points across more efficiently than others. Overall a kind of album one may not find often, and one that certainly deserves its praises for what it does right.