Burns Twins x KAINA x Bedows • sweet asl. (EP)
Numerous reasons exist as to why Chicago is making the best music in the world right now, but two things particularly that are at the top of said list are the collaborative nature and musicality of our artists. If there's any other place in the world where artists come together so freely to manifest one another's musical visions, they must not be having the same results. Furthermore, in an era where the music made by young artists starts and stops with the digital tools of the time, kids in Chicago seem to be pushing past, picking up instruments, and putting in the hours to master their craft.
Both of these aspects come to play beautifully in the sweet asl. EP, a joint effort between singer Kaina Castillo, Eddie Burns (drums), IZ Burns (trumpet), and Andrew Bedows (keys). After being cooked up all summer in between basement recording sessions and FaceTime brain storming calls, the six-song project was released yesterday. We got a taste of what was to come earlier this summer when we had the opportunity to premiere the Burns Twins and KAINA's debut collaboration "Mango Kisses", but when given the room to run that the full EP allowed - they were really able to show off what they could do. The songs contained within this EP are full of natural sounding instrumentation, full of horns and jazzy hip-hop elements, all of which makes for one hell of an organic end result. Over the last few years in Chicago, it's been amazing watching young artists get started, seeing them develop, and eventually admiring as they fulfill their immense potential. With how good this group of musicians is already, I can't wait to see what they will be giving the world a few months/years from now.